Mentoring agency is celebrating 50 years in 2026 amidst navigating financial challenges
Big Brothers Big Sisters began a new chapter in their 50-year history in the region last week.
Financial challenges forced the mentoring agency to sell its offices in Winkler late last year. They are now setting up shop at the Central Station Community Centre in Winkler and the 500 Stephen Community Centre in Morden twice a week to meet with prospective volunteers and families.
“We’ll be at 500 Stephen Tuesdays and at Central Station Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.,” shared executive director Jenelle Neufeld as their first week in the new spaces came to a close.
She’s optimistic this change will be a good one, long-term, for the agency, as it puts them in spaces where the families they serve can much more easily connect with them.
“Our old office was a little off the beaten path,” she said. “For the demographic we serve, unless you have a car, then it was very out of the way.
“We wanted to meet people where they’re already at and already accessing other social services,” she said. “And we wholeheartedly support and are behind what 500 Stephen and Central Station do … they both have programs that are a very wrap-around approach to supporting people, so it just made sense. And they’ve both welcomed us with open arms.”
Still, the decision to sell their offices wasn’t one the non-profit’s board took lightly. But it had become a necessity.
The unexpected loss of a longtime, externally-organized fundraiser a few years ago that had generated upwards of $20,000 a year for the agency put them in a significant deficit they’ve yet to recover from, Neufeld explained.
That situation followed by consecutive years that saw other fundraising initiatives struggle to reach their targets put them in a situation where keeping the Winkler office was no longer feasible.
“It just wasn’t sustainable,” Neufeld said.
“Ninety-five per cent of our budget is fundraised donations and grants,” she noted, observing that uncertain economic times certainly has a ripple effect through the community, including on non-profits, and Big Bros. has certainly felt the sting of that in recent years. “We know we’re not alone in this—it’s difficult for everybody right now, and we’re very aware of that.”
But she feels strongly about the mission of Big Brothers Big Sisters, which is to create supportive mentoring relationships—be it through one-on-one matches or group programs—that help youth build confidence, develop life skills, and feel more connected to their community.
“We’re the only ones doing what we do,” Neufeld said, stressing they’re going to do everything they can to get and keep their heads above water so they can continue with that programming.
Neufeld has made presentations to municipal councils throughout their service area asking them to consider supporting Big Bros. in their budgets this year.
It’s the first time the agency has had to make such a blanket request for municipal support. Neufeld hopes elected officials will consider the impact reaching youth early can have on their success later in life.
“Over the past six years, I’ve sat at a lot of tables in our region and we as social services agencies are talking a lot about the concerns that we all have—food insecurity, homelessness, financial insecurity, mental health,” she said. “All these things that young people may have stacked up against them.
“There are a lot of social service agencies that are helping people in the here and now,” she continued, pointing to the work being done by the community centres and food banks, for example. “In my opinion, however, unless we are also investing money into the next generation, nothing is going to change.
“Our whole philosophy and mandate and mission and vision is breaking the cycles, or at the very least giving kids the opportunity and the tools to break those cycles.”
The one-on-one mentoring relationships they foster are a big part of that—research has shown kids who have had another stable adult role model in their lives through Big Bros. are more confident, happier, and believe they’re making better life choices as a result—but group programming has increasingly become another focus of the agency in recent years, including through youth-tailored workshops on things like financial literacy.
“It’s our job to set these kids up for the best chance that they have to reach their full potential,” Neufeld said.
They reached 125 kids in 2025—a ground-breaking number, especially considering the financial challenges they’ve been facing, Neufeld noted.
“So my plea to the business community, to the municipal governments is: imagine what we could do if we had the funding and support.”
As they look to celebrate their 50th anniversary in the Pembina Valley, Big Brothers Big Sisters is tackling its financial challenges head-on.
They have numerous fundraising initiatives in the works, including a monthly trivia night at the Heritage Farms Brewing Tap Room in Winkler, Wednesday night Chase the Ace at the Morden Legion, Bowl for Kids’ Sake in March, the summer slo-pitch tournament, and a few other things yet to be announced.
They’re also about to launch a major new sponsorship campaign dubbed “50 Doors” detailing how businesses can partner with them to support area youth. It comes with a variety of sponsorship levels for Big Bros. programming and events and recognition for that support.
“$2,000 sponsors a ‘door’ and supports a young person through our programming for the year,” Neufeld explains, noting they’re aiming for 50 sponsored ‘doors’ to mark their anniversary.
You can learn more about 50 Doors by connecting with Neufeld at 1-204-823-1028 or via email to jenelle.neufeld@bigbrothersbigsisters.ca.
Donations to Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Pembina Valley can also be made online at pembinavalley.bigbrothersbigsisters.ca/donate/.
If you have benefited from Big Brothers Big Sisters programming in the past, either as a mentee or a mentor, Neufeld would also love to hear from you. They hope to share stories of personal impact as this milestone anniversary year continues.
