North End Grads Lift The Whole Neighbourhood

This Thursday, the North End is coming together to celebrate the graduating students at 3 local high schools and to let those grads know that when they graduate, it lifts our whole neighbourhood up. What started as a way to support graduates who missed their grad celebrations due to the pandemic, continues as an celebration of the resilience and spirit of North Enders and North End Graduates. Beginning at St John’s High School at 1:30pm, we will walk with a drum group, police escort and the Bear Clan Patrol down Salter Street, stopping at the Bell Tower, walking through Children of the Earth and finishing at RB Russell High School for a Barbecue and celebration. This year, it will be our 4th annual event!

But Why?

I remember during the pandemic, seeing many of the youth I connected with over the years and even my own family, happy and excited to graduate…but then share their feelings of heart break and disappointment as events and festivities were cancelled. It was the grad season of 2022 (students had already missed their 2020 and 2021 celebrations) and I felt like we needed to call those grads back to the stage to get their flowers. So, we organized the first North End Grad Walk in 2022 and invited grads from all 3 of the previous years to come and walk with us. We (literally) gave them flowers, marched down Salter Street and finished with a Barbecue. That experience was so powerful, we did it again the following June in 2023 and again in 2024. I hope those students know that their achievements make their family proud, but also makes our whole neighbourhood proud too. Plus, we need more reasons to gather together in celebrations, am I right?

Memorial Bursaries

We wanted to celebrate these graduates beyond their educational achievements and last year we began looking to provide Memorial Bursaries to students in honour of North Enders who believe in the students and want them to be successful. Last year and this year at Children of the Earth we are honoured to provide the Wayne Catcheway Memorial Bursary to a student who takes care of the kids in a meaningful way. At RB Russell we are providing the John Morissette Memorial Bursary to a student who works quietly to support their peers and school community. Thank you to Zoongizi Ode and Bear Clan Patrol for supporting those bursaries this year! We would also like to send our love the Government of Manitoba for the hospitality grant they shared with us this year for food and other expenses!

You’re Invited!

We had some very exciting guests coming out too. One year the Mayor Scott Gillingham came out and served hot dogs to the students and community. We had the Lt. Governor Anita Neville come out as well to help hand out flowers to the grads before the walk began! We even had a letter from the Governor General of Canada, Mary Simon, who shared her love and support to the grads as well. But most important of all the guests, were the smiling parents, the neighbours and of course the graduates themselves, who got to look around at our events and see a whole community beaming back at them. What special guests will we see this year? If you are reading this, please know, that you are invited to come and celebrate the grads along Salter street too!

And to the grads: thank you for all of your sacrifices, dedication and achievements that led you to this point in your life of graduating - the whole neighbourhood is so proud of you!