Gateway Resources is throwing a party and everyone is invited.
The non-profit that provides work and support services for people living with intellectual disabilities hosts its annual gala on Thursday, May 7.
“This is our biggest fundraiser of the year,” says Kimberly Nelson, Gateway CEO, sharing that the money raised at the event will be used in large part to help them make repairs at the 21 homes operated by its residential division.
“Gateway continues to expand and grow, but we also need to do upkeep on our day services buildings as well as our residential homes,” she said.
Both the residences and the day program help Gateway participants live their best lives.
“We have so many staff that are part of the lives of the individuals we support,” Nelson shared. “We walk through all moments of their day with them by enabling them to have full and productive lives.”
That gala is the community’s opportunity to take a peek into the work of Gateway, with participants sharing their stories.
“They’ll talk about whether they maybe live at Gateway or some of their day program activities or the jobs they have in the community,” Nelson said. “We use this as an opportunity for people to realize what the Gateway community means within the communities of Winkler and Morden.”
The evening will also include a silent auction, dinner, and a keynote address from six-time Olympic medalist Cindy Klassen.
Klassen won bronze in speed skating at the 2002 Winter Games and a gold, two silver, and two bronze medals at the 2006 Olympics. A four-time World Champion and former Overall World Cup Champion, she has been named Canadian Athlete of the Year and inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.
“With the Olympics happening this year and many of the people we support being part of Special Olympics and just the love of sport within our community, we thought this would be a great opportunity to have someone like her come and share her story,” Nelson said. “Her resiliency and her passion and dedication, we thought that would be inspiring to everyone.”
Finding the right guest speaker or performer for the gala is always a fun challenge, Nelson observed.
“Every year we try to think who might people want to hear—we want to draw a big crowd in because this is our one opportunity to really showcase everything that Gateway does,” she said. “Lots of people know about our recycling trucks, people know a little bit about our homes, but they don’t actually, unless they come to this evening, get a full picture of all of the services that Gateway offers.”
The gala takes place at the Buttercup Celebration Hall just south of Winkler at 6 p.m that night.
Tickets are $100 each or $700 for a table of eight and can be booked by calling 204‑325‑7304 ext. 260, emailing corinne@gatewayresourcesinc.com, or stopping by Gateway in person.
