With an organization that’s been around as long as ours – we celebrated 93 years on April 26th – it’s no surprise that our history is rich. The Winnipeg Foundation is a collection of endowments, but it’s also a collection of stories. Over the years, thousands of donors have contributed to our funds and each of them has had a unique reason to give.
We were reminded of one of those singular stories while looking through our archives recently. In 1970, Winnipeg hosted Queen Elizabeth II. (She was accompanied by her son, Prince Charles, who will visit us again later this month.) That royal visit prompted an act of generosity that ultimately benefited our community.
An anonymous Winnipegger offered a donation to the Queen’s lady-in-waiting: a gift of $15 and a letter commending her work. “You are called on to do so many things. So, My Dear Lady to make things a little brighter for you, will you please accept this little gift from me,” writes the donor who identifies herself as 78 years old and hailing from England. Her letter indicates a humble lifestyle, making her gesture of generosity and caring all the more remarkable.
Her gift eventually found its way to our foundation, via Government House in Ottawa and Manitoba’s then Lieutenant Governor, the Honorable R. S. Bowles. Bowles remembered the story of The Widow’s Mite – the second gift made the Foundation – an anonymous contribution of three gold coins, each worth five dollars, presumably contributed by a local woman of modest means. Seeing the parallels 46 years later (down to the dollar amount), Bowles decided the gift should be turned over to the Foundation for the benefit of Winnipeg.
And so, this self-described “old age pensioner,” who wrote that she lived alone in a small room and cooked her own meals, contributed to the Foundation’s ability to support important community causes. Hers is just one of thousands of stories, and thousands of gifts, we celebrate For good. Forever.
