Gateway Resources’ annual fundraising gala May 8 gave guests a glimpse at the impact its programming for individuals with intellectual disabilities is having in the community.
CEO Kim Nelson noted everyone in the packed-full room at the Buttercup Celebration Hall was there for a shared purpose.
“We come together because we believe in making a difference,” she said, thanking all who had a hand in making the night such a success. Funds raised that evening will go to support Gateway’s residential, life enrichment, and work programs.
“Though our services have evolved over the years, our core vision has never wavered: to support individuals living with an intellectual disability with compassion, dignity, and a focus on personal goals,” Nelson said.
The agency’s 260 staff “show up each day to provide care, mentorship, encouragement, and advocacy,” she continued. “We currently support 119 individuals through a wide range of holistic programs, focusing on emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. We do this by walking alongside each individual, encouraging, exploring, and empowering their choices every step of the way.”
Gateway strives to be an integral part of the communities it serves, Nelson said.
“Each year, we process 2.5 million kilograms of recycling,” she shared. “Last year, we expanded our woodworking facility, opening new opportunities and partnerships locally and regionally. Every year, our team produces approximately 24,000 crates, 10,000 pallets, and 19,000 separators. That’s serious craftsmanship.
“But our impact does not stop there. We help individuals find paid and volunteer positions in the community, working with amazing partners like EcoPlus, Hometown Ford, Co-op, King’s Deli, Salem, Tabor, the humane society, and so many more. These relationships don’t just create opportunities, they build pride, purpose, and connection.
“Our life skills program blends education, recreation, and community involvement,” Nelson noted. “Whether it’s participating in local cleanup days or attending events, our individuals are active, engaged, and thriving.”
Gateway operates 19 staffed homes in Morden and Winkler and also has a thriving homeshare program and an independent living program that supports over 40 people.
“These services offer not just housing but dignity, belonging, and opportunity,” Nelson stressed. “Because Gateway isn’t just an organization—it’s a community. It’s a home for so many.”
Attendees got the opportunity to hear from three Gateway participants about what the agency means to them.
Steve Klassen has been with Gateway in a variety of capacities since the early ‘90s. Today he is employed in the wood room and also attends the seniors program.
“I’ve learned how to use tools, like staplers, nail guns, and saws,” Klassen said. “And I learned how to sort recycling. I’ve also learned computer skills and lots of other things.”
“The staff at Gateway are helping me stay independent by teaching me skills and helping with cleaning and other things at my apartment.”
Helen Wiebe, who is deaf and so spoke through an interpreter, shared that she’s worked in the kitchen, with the cleaning crews, and in the recycling department. She also attends community learning classes.
“I also live in my own apartment in the community and receive help through the week from staff in the supported independent living program,” she said, noting she’s learned how to “cook, to budget, save money, and manage my time.”
Wiebe said that her time at Gateway has helped her to become more confident around people. Her favourite part about coming in every day is “being able to talk to my friends at coffee break and lunchtime.”
Fellow participant Colleen Voth has lived in Gateway houses in both Winkler and Morden over the years.
“I have worked in recycling for a long time. Helped with cleaning and the laundry contract at Clay Owl,” she said. “I’ve also been able to volunteer at the Hope Thrift Store and Clay Owl Studio.
“I have learned how to work and do different jobs at Gateway,” Voth said. “I have learned about manners and how to have good friendships. At home, I have learned to take care of myself better.”
Becoming unstoppable
Overcoming challenges is something Gateway’s participants have in common with the gala’s guest presenter.
Motivational speaker, author, and athlete the “Unstoppable” Tracy Schmitt shared her story of perseverance with humour and insight.
Schmitt was born a four-way amputee, but she’s never let it stop her from living life to the fullest.
She has climbed mountains, ranked in international sailing competitions, and medaled in alpine downhill para-skiing. In 20219, Schmitt was inducted into the Canadian Disability Hall of Fame.
Schmitt recalled her first day of Kindergarten and how the principal tried to turn her away, afraid she would rely too heavily on her teacher due to her disabilities.
Her mother convinced the principal to give it a week and see how it went, stressing to Schmitt that “everybody’s included—nobody left behind, including you.”
A few days later, Schmitt was late getting out to recess and the principal feared the worst—but when he went to see what had happened he found the five-year-old with no hands or feet was the only kid in the class that knew how to tie her shoelaces, and she was missing recess because she was helping her peers learn to do the same.
“I got to stay in that school,” Schmitt said. “And that principal, he never said, ‘No [she can’t do something] again.”
People have long underestimated the abilities of people living with a disability, but they don’t have to let that define them, Schmitt stressed.
“We are ‘dis-arming’ those ‘limb-iting’ beliefs,” she punned. “Sometimes when kids ask me what happened, I tell them, ‘I was born without my limbs. I was born ‘limb-itless.’ And then I say, ‘The bigger secret is that you were born limitless too.’ We’re all born limitless, and yet we don’t always feel unstoppable.”
Feeling like you can achieve anything is as much a mental accomplishment as a physical one, Schmitt said, stressing there are three parts to succeeding at it: exceeding uncertainty, embracing possibility, and earning independence.
When people believed she couldn’t sail because of her physical challenges, Schmitt set out to prove them wrong—to exceed uncertainties—by finding ways to adapt and never giving up.
“Feeling uncertain is no excuse for inaction,” Schmitt said, noting she found a world-class coach and wouldn’t stop bugging him until he agreed to train her. And then she didn’t give up until she’d achieved her dream of competing.
It was the same attitude that got her out on the ski slopes for the first time.
“We didn’t know how I would ski. And you might not know how you’re going to face whatever you’re dealing with right now,” Schmitt said, sharing how she learned through trial and error the best way to adjust downhill skis to suit her body, and the many tries it took to get the hang of the high-speed sport.
“Embrace possibility. Even when you don’t know how, don’t avoid failure. We didn’t know how I would ski, but I knew I would ski. Sometimes we get to show up and we get to believe it’s going to happen … we figure it out.”
That attitude leads to the final part: earning independence, though Schmitt stressed, as she showed photos of her rock climbing, that doesn’t necessarily mean doing everything alone.
“I was scared out of my mind when I was rappelling, when I left that cliff edge … I had forgotten someone was on my safety line,” she said. “Someone had my back.
“Who’s on your safety line? Who has your back? Somebody that says, ‘Oh no’ or somebody that says, ‘I don’t think that’s realistic?’ I think this is a room full of people that do and forevermore will say, ‘You got this. You can do this’ even when we don’t know how. We get to earn independence, but it’s not earning it alone … earning independence is actually earning interdependence.
“Everybody here is interconnected in one way or another,” Schmitt said, emphasizing that the key to being unstoppable is “when you get blindsided or you’re feeling helpless, believe you are capable … embrace possibility, even when you don’t know how … and you jump out of those airplanes—you just make sure you know who packed your parachute.
“When you live a life of no excuses, the bonus is you get to live a life of no limits.”
