The Northern Spirit Manor is well on its way to the purchase of a much needed Handivan, at a cost of around $100,000.
A volunteer appreciation night was held at the Northern Spirit Manor on June 18. Betsy Wrana, manager of Northern Spirit Manor, announced that the start of fundraising for the Handivan was under way during the event.
Thanks to a $25,000 contribution from Gail Morberg, former owner of Calm Air International, and another $25,000 contribution from various sources, the Northern Spirit Manor now has $50,000 to go towards the purchase of the vehicle.
Wrana says she's thrilled with the contributions and with the generosity people have shown.
"I'm just overwhelmed. Gail Morberg had a loved one in our homeand she has always been a generous woman. The Morbergs have always been very generous, so we're grateful to her and her family," she explains. "We're thrilled, because we've known that we had a need for a Handivan since we opened, for about two and a half years, since January of 2007."
Wrana says the Northern Spirit Manor desperately needs a Handivan for two reasons - one, to take patients back and forth from the hospital for doctors appointments and dialysis, and also to be able to take everyone out for outings and to facilitate the adult day care program that will be starting up at the Northern Spirit Manor in the next few years.
As of right now the Northern Spirit Manor is getting by using the Juniper Centre Handivan, Driftwood Nickel City Taxi's Handivan cabs, and Keewatin Tribal Council (KTC)'s Handivan. Wrana says each of those modes of transportation have good points and bad points. The taxis only have room for one wheelchair, while the Juniper Centre Handivan is used for school children as a first priority, so it can be hard to access on evenings and weekends. She points out KTC has been generous in allowing Northern Spirit Manor to use their Handivan for medical appointments, but through their mandate they're funded by the government for the purpose of transporting out of town treaty residents who come to Thompson for medical appointments first.
"At times we can't take people in wheel chairs [to events], so we're limited. It depends - we try to arrange longer outings when the Juniper Centre Handivan is available. We have to work around other existing things," Wrana explains.
The Northern Spirit Manor needs to fundraise $50,000 more to be able to purchase a Handivan.
