A handful of local charities were met by a sudden windfall of $43,750 at the HyLife Fun Days this past weekend.

Les Petits Brisous Day Care in La Broquerie was one such recipient.

“Day Cares have really hard time with our budgets,” explains Executive Director Andree Remillard, “We don’t get a lot of money from the province and we charge very low fees to our parents so when we receive money like this it’s just amazing.”

Though Remillard says funding is typically directed towards maintaining their quality level of operations, much of HyLife’s donation has been allocated to a particular project. 

“We are getting an expansion that will include 8 infant spaces and 16 preschool spaces,” indicates Remillard who notes that the addition will be attached to their current facility on the school grounds. These renovations are scheduled to begin construction this coming fall 

Steinbach Community Outreach was another recipient of HyLife's donation. Director Irene Kroeker calls it the biggest single sum of money Outreach has ever received.

Kroeker views these excess funds as an invitation to think big. “Now that we have this amount of money, we can dream and see where there are gaps in our community that we can fill!”

Kroeker has already identified one of those gaps as transitional housing; shelter where homeless people can stay while they are connected with more permanent accommodations. According to Kroeker, transitional housing could take the form of renting an apartment for a year or even developing part of a house.

As Outreach continues to grow Kroeker says they have other needs as well. This donation may enable them to hire another paid part-time worker to help them handle their ever-expanding program. 

Meanwhile, Southeast Helping Hands and Accueil Kateri Food Bank in Ste. Anne were among four Manitoba food banks to receive a collective sum of $43,750 from HyLife last weekend. This donation will be split and distributed at a later date.