Edison Garcia is the founder of Bayanihan sa Winnipeg, a group that does a lot of volunteer work for the community. They boost busted car batteries, drive for seniors, deliver food donations, usher in community events, patrol for neighborhood watch and the list goes on.
Every winter, they help seniors clear their areas from snow. And when they do, their only weapon is…their own personal shovel.
But not until a couple of weeks ago when their volunteer work will now be efficient and attainable. No more need for the shovel because Bayanihan sa Winnipeg was chosen to be one of the recipients of a snow thrower through the generosity of Greenworks Canada and Cynthia Reyes.
Bayanihan sa Winnipeg
After the viral tweet about Cynthia Reyes shovelling, a commercial equipment company called Greenworks Canada reached out to Cynthia and wanted to give her, not one, but three 80V 22 snow throwers. Without hesitation, Cynthia felt inclined to give them away to anybody who would benefit from them.
Cynthia Reyes gave away the first snow thrower to a friend who organized a contest for health care workers with the unit being one of the prizes. The second snow thrower went to Cynthia’s dad who is in his 70s and loves how efficient and lightweight the snow thrower is.
For the third snow thrower, Cynthia reached out to the Filipino Journal to help look for a deserving organization in the community. With recommendations from kababayans, the snow thrower was given to Bayanihan sa Winnipeg, a community service group whose volunteer works include shoveling and clearing snow for the seniors.
Bayanihan sa Winnipeg headed by Edison Garcia expressed their gratitude to Greenworks Canada and Cynthia Reyes.
“Malaking tulong po talaga itong snow blower sa volunteer work namin dahil mas napabilis po niya ang trabaho. Pang-one man show kasi naisasakay at naibaba sa sasakyan kahit isang tao lang,” said Edison.
(The snowblower is really a big help in our volunteer work because it speeds up the job. It’s like a one-man show because you can load it in and unload from the car by yourself.)
More importantly, the equipment enables them to help more people.
Mrs. Josie Rana is one kababayan that Edison helps regularly with clearing the snow and driving for her errands. She is in her 70s and lives alone. The day that FJ came to cover Edison’s work, a pile of snow was covering half of Josie’s door, making it hard for her to go out.
Josie Rana is just one of the many people who rely on Bayanihan sa Winnipeg for help. That is why opportunities that Cynthia Reyes shared with the group is something that they really appreciate and are grateful for because not only that it made their job easier, but it also allowed them to expand their capacity to help.
For questions about their group and their volunteer works, you can go to Bayanihan sa Winnipeg Facebook page.
Photos by Ron Cantiveros | Filipino Journal