By Red River Mutual

Red River Mutual Invites Communities to Spruce Up Their Stories

Mar 1, 2023 | 9:43 AM

Red River Mutual’s Community Initiative Is Offering Funds to Renew and Restore Community Spaces For Fourth Year

Red River Mutual’s community sponsorship initiative, Spruce Up Your Story, is back for its fourth year and offering $150,000 in total to help restore well-worn, but well-loved spaces that are at the heart of communities across Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

“The goal of Spruce Up Your Story is to ensure the places where communities gather continue to thrive for generations to come. It’s not about replacing these spaces, but rather breathing new life into them,” says Vice President of Strategy and Business Development, Jennifer Ewankiw. “We’re committed to helping make a change in the communities and neighbourhoods we do business in. Red River Mutual is part of the community, a neighbour, and we want to be there for our neighbours.”

This year, Red River Mutual will help restore select community spaces where people connect, laugh, learn, and share. Deserving communities across the prairies will receive a share of $150,000. On top of the monetary gift, the winners will also have access to additional volunteer hours from a crew of Red River Mutual and local brokerage staff members to help complete their projects.

Since 2020, Red River Mutual has awarded more than $450,000 to support 30 spaces in communities across Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Southquill Foodbank Garden in Erickson, Manitoba was one of the recipients granted funds in 2020 to help set up a community garden adjacent to its foodbank.

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Red River Mutual provided $16,000 to help the Main Street Green Space – Southquill Foodbank Community Garden Spruce Up their Story. The funds are being used to properly landscape the garden to prevent runoff and soil erosion, level and re-gravel the parking pad to accommodate increased visitor traffic, and add elements like picnic tables, signage, a tool shed and more. The space will have room to grow within and with the community.

“What has made this community garden special is how many people have come together to help support it. Spruce Up Your Story has helped our communities develop and build towards sustainable food security,” says Heather Parrott-Howdle, Volunteer Board Member. “Erickson is a special place, because of the variety of cultures here. It will be a gathering place where people can build relationships around healthy food. This community dream could never have happened without the support we received from Red River Mutual and our local insurance agent, Northstar Insurance.”

Applications for this year’s initiative are now open. The submitted renovation or beautification projects will be evaluated based on community use and significance, commitment to sustainability, aspects of volunteerism, and connections to a local Red River Mutual affiliated insurance brokerage.

For a full list of previous winners and updates on their projects, visit redrivermutual.com/spruce-up-your-story/winners/. Members of the public can submit a project for consideration until May 31, 2022 and learn more about the initiative by visiting SpruceUpYourStory.com.

About Spruce Up Your Story

The Spruce Up Your Story initiative was started in 2020. Its purpose isn’t to bring a brand-new rec centre or library to life, rather, it honours and protects the spaces that are well-worn and well-loved in our Prairie communities – the places where stories are already being made. Each Spruce Up Your Story renovation or beautification project is submitted by a local community member. Red River Mutual works with its network of broker partners to promote the opportunity, and Red River Mutual staff help determine the winners.

About Red River Mutual

Red River Mutual believes everyone has a right to feel safe and protected and to know that someone is looking out for them – while we’re watching out for others. With policyholders with homes, farms and businesses all the way from Thunder Bay to the Rockies, Red River Mutual is committed to providing competitive insurance products that meet the changing needs of Canadians. As a company, we know that it’s the people we protect that matter most. That’s why we’ve strived to be a positive force in the lives of our customers and their communities since 1875.