For one MGEU member, this past New Year’s Eve was one to forget – and it had nothing to do with any post-party fallout.
While most people were out celebrating the beginning of 2009, Alana Waldner was staring at the charred remains of her home and wondering what she was going to do next.
Alana’s Portage la Prairie townhouse was destroyed by a grease fire that started in her neighbours’ kitchen on December 30, 2008. The homecare worker lost everything and, without home insurance, didn’t have the financial means to begin replacing all that was lost.
Friends, family and people in the community helped Alana get back on her feet with the basics of shelter food and clothes. And a local bank set up a fund for donations to the families who lost everything.
But a fellow homecare worker and MGEU member, Harriet Seniuk, thought her union could help out as well. Harriet didn’t have a lot to give, but thought if she could get a bunch of people to donate a couple of bucks each, it would help Alana out.
Harriet went to an Area 4 Council meeting with an idea: she would sell $2 tickets for a prize draw. The MGEU agreed to donate the prizes, while Harriet and a few other Area 4 members sold a couple hundred tickets. Some kicked in a few extra dollars to help raise $511, which was recently given to Alana.
Obviously, that wasn’t enough to replace everything she lost, but it has helped Alana get back up on her feet and she appreciates every cent of it.
“I can’t thank everyone enough who participated in the fundraiser by either buying or selling tickets on my behalf. Also, a big thank you to Harriet for initiating the campaign and approaching the MGEU.”
Alana is moving on with her life. She’s heading to Brandon this summer, where she will be working in ICU at Brandon General Hospital, and is enrolled for the fall at Brandon University as a pre-nursing student.