Last week, Gateway Resources rolled up its sleeves and hit the streets supporting “Pay it Forward May”, for which the nonprofit organized a cleanup effort in both Winkler and Morden.
Gateway CEO Kim Nelson says they have embraced the Pay it Forward campaign for years. This time around, they decided to focus on tidying up public spaces around the two cities.
“So we really like to participate in the Pay it Forward initiative that the Winkler Community Foundation puts out,” Nelson said. “This year, we decided to do some garbage cleanup in and around the city of Winkler and the city of Morden.”
Strategizing inclusivity
Rather than setting a single cleanup day, Gateway offered flexible participation. Different groups went out at different times, choosing areas close to home or wherever they felt most connected.
“We took periods of the day and people got to pick whether they went to a park, whether they cleaned up by a path… it was kind of just wherever the residents or participants that we support kind of wanted to go and clean.”
The effort included both residents and staff.
“At our main site, we took from 1:00 to 2:30, and everything shut down, and we all just went to different areas,” Nelson explained. “The homes kind of picked, if they were close to a park, they might have done that area.”
More than ‘cleaning up’
For Gateway events and activities like "Pay it Forward May," provide opportunities for the people they support to be active participants in their communities.
“We have some of the most kindest, caring and dedicated people that we support, and they want to be part of everything,” Nelson said. “So having this opportunity to do this… it just helps to make everyone’s day brighter.”
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Why paying it forward matters
Nelson says the motivation to participate in the initiative is simple: gratitude.
“Gateway is blessed by community support. And we want to be able to give back to the community.”
By taking part in “Pay it Forward May,” Gateway Resources not only helped beautify public spaces but also demonstrated what it means to be part of a caring, connected community.
- with files from Gateway Resources -