Local News
Gwen Secter Centre and Jewish Child and Family Service working together to provide much needed help for seniors in our community
By BERNIE BELLAN
Beginning two months ago, I’ve been reporting on the incredible job that the Gwen Secter Centre has been doing in providing meals for seniors in our Jewish community since the Province imposed a lockdown on March 13.
As I noted in our May 27 issue, Gwen Secter has gone from producing 60 meals the week of March 30-April 3 to 286 meals for 73 different individuals in late May. This past week, according to Becky Chisick, Executive Director of the Gwen Secter Centre, 340 meals went out to seniors.
I had asked Becky whether there is anyone in particular who deserves a shout-out for what Gwen Secter has been doing?
She wrote: “The shout-out really needs to be going to our volunteer drivers. The routes are increasing and get larger in size. A number of people have come forward to volunteer their time and we are still looking for more. I also have a part-time volunteer meal coordinator, Lauren Cogan. Lauren is helping with on boarding new seniors, coordinating volunteers and making calls to everyone on delivery days. “ (We have a full story about Lauren Cogan in this issue and the extremely active life she leads on page 7.(
Working hand in hand with the Gwen Secter Centre has been Jewish Child and Family Service, which has a large number of senior clients. (The JCFS typically serves between 500-600 seniors a year, according to JCFS Executive Director Al Benarroch.)
Here’s how the JCFS Annual Report described its older adult services: “Older Adult Services is a program designed to support the needs of Jewish elderly living independently in the community. Services ensure an optimal level of psychological, social, cultural, emotional and physical functioning in clients, thereby maximizing their quality of life and allowing them to remain at home and age in place.
“Aging Mental Health is a focused program that addresses the needs of our aging clients who also are living with mental illness and/or other chronic emotional problems. This area provides highly specialized, crossprogram services to clients requiring unique supports for a variety of issues, including those arising from psychiatric illness, memory loss and isolation.”
In addition, JCFS also provides services for Holocaust survivors.
I asked both Becky Chisick and Cheryl Hirsh Katz, Manager, Adult Services at JCFS, whether they could provide me with some names of seniors who might be willing to talk about what Gwen Secter and JCFS have been doing for them during a time when seniors, in particular, are isolated and experiencing much higher levels of anxiety.
In response, I was given the names of six different individuals who, I was told, were willing to speak with me about their experiences. For the purposes of this article, I am using different names for the individuals with whom I spoke, in order to preserve their anonymity. Each of the individuals with whom I spoke lives alone.
“Lisa” told me that (like the 70 other seniors who have been receiving meals from Gwen Secter), she’s been getting four meals a week – two on Tuesdays and two on Fridays.
I asked Lisa how she was put in touch with Gwen Secter to start receiving meals.
“My worker at JCFS is Heather Mandel Kraut,” Lisa explained. “Heather had asked me whether I could use the service (Gwen Secter’s food deliveries)” when the Province imposed the lockdown.
In Lisa’s particular case, while she is able to get out on her own, because of a physical condition, “it’s hard for me to stand – even for the five minutes it usually takes to put together a meal”, she noted. Also, because it’s hard for her to remain on her feet, she does have someone doing shopping for her.
I asked Lisa what she does to supplement the meals she’s been getting from Gwen Secter.
“I’ll buy a chicken and roast it,” she said. She also prepares salads and side dishes but, like the others seniors with whom I spoke, Lisa doesn’t eat a huge amount, so she’s been able to stretch the four meals that she’s been getting from Gwen Secter.
Lisa told me that each time there’s a delivery from Gwen Secter, one meal is meat and one is milk. The meat meals which, she said can be anything from chicken to sweet and sour meatballs, to turkey sausage, to brisket (occasionally), are all accompanied by “a carbohydrate and some kind of vegetable”, Lisa noted.
But, because Lisa is also diabetic, the kitchen staff at Gwen Secter have been careful not to include any items containing sugar in her particular meals so that, in a dairy meal with blintzes, for instance, the strawberries that come with the meal have no sugar.
Something else that Lisa mentioned is that, while she did grow up in a Jewish home where she loved her “baba and aunt’s cooking”, it’s been a long time since she had tasted many of the foods that were so familiar to her as a child. Having lived away from Winnipeg for years, it’s only been since she started receiving meals from Gwen Secter of late that she’s been able to conjure up memories of her baba’s and aunt’s meals.
“I was incredibly lucky in my life to have a baba and aunt who made fabulous meals and the Gwen Secter meals have comparable taste,” Lisa said. “The meals have the traditional edge to them” that she so fondly recalls from her childhood years; eating those meals “brings it all back,” she added.
And – as a sign how thoughtful the Gwen Secter staff has been in arranging those meals, Lisa observed that there “have been extras as well – like boxes of matzah during Passover” and, more recently, challahs on Thursdays.
(I asked Becky Chisick when challahs started to be included with the Thursday deliveries and who’s been providing them? She responded: “We’ve been including Challah for the past few weeks on our Friday deliveries. This was something I really wanted to do for the seniors who are isolated. I felt it was important to bring a little Shabbat into their homes. The challah is not donated, but City Bread is helping us out with a much appreciated deep discount to help stretch our funding dollars. I’m happy to hear everyone is enjoying.”)
*****
“Norman” returned to Winnipeg last year after having lived elsewhere most of his life. In his case though, as a result of an injury, he hasn’t been able to get out, but he is rehabilitating his injury and hopes to be fully functional sometime soon.
In the meantime, his worker at JCFS also told Norman about Gwen Secter’s food delivery program, and he’s most appreciative.
“I do get around with a walker,” he added, but “getting the meals is very helpful”.
I asked him whether the portions in the meals provided by Gwen Secter are sufficient?
“I’ve lost a lot of weight” (since his injury and subsequent operation), Norman answered, “so my eating habits are different – and the portions are sufficient”.
But then Norman mentioned that there are some items in the meals delivered by Gwen Secter that he doesn’t eat, such as potatoes or perogies. I said to him that he should simply let the Gwen Secter staff know that there are certain foods he won’t eat, and I was sure substitutes could be arranged. (I told him about Lisa’s diabetes and how Gwen Secter made sure there was no sugar in any of the foods in her meals.)
Something else that Norman said – and which is probably typical of many of the seniors who have found themselves availing themselves of Gwen Secter’s assistance, is that “I would like to not use it (the food deliveries) so that someone else could use it.”
By the way, Norman had not even heard of JCFS when he returned to Winnipeg last year, so being able to receive assistance from that organization came as a most pleasant surprise.
“JCFS has been very helpful to me,” he noted – “and very supportive – by phone or by email – on an as-needed basis.”
As for the Gwen Secter Centre, again – like JCFS, Norman had never heard of that organization either, and he is deeply appreciative of what the Gwen Secter Centre has been able to do for him.
*****
“Bonnie” has been a client of JCFS in the past but, like Norman, she had been living away from Winnipeg for years.
Unlike Lisa and Norman, however, Bonnie hasn’t had to avail herself of the Gwen Secter food delivery program. She is able to get out and do her own shopping.
In Bonnie’s case, however, it wasn’t a physical condition that led to her contacting JCFS. She has a psychological condition, “but I couldn’t afford to pay a psychologist or a therapist,” she explained.
Yet, Bonnie was not aware that JCFS provides services for individuals such as her. Once she was told though about JCFS’s services for seniors and other individuals with psychological conditions, she did get in touch with JCFS and has maintained weekly contact with a social worker assigned to her case ever since – most recently via ZOOM.
Ever since the provincial lockdown was imposed, Bonnie said she’s been in weekly contact with her social worker. (It used to be only once every two weeks, she noted.)
“The social worker has been really wonderful,” Bonnie said.
*****
The final senior with whom I spoke was “Anne”.
In Anne’s case, she explained, “I have arthritis, so I’ve been stuck using frozen meals.”
“I usually shop at Walmart” (online), Anne said, but “I couldn’t get online” because Walmart’s system was so inundated with users.
“I also tried Cantor’s (early on during the lockdown), “but they were rationing groceries, – things like sweet potatoes,” Anne noted.
“So, I started using Save on Foods for deliveries,” she said, “but they’re quite expensive.
“Then Dan (Saidman, Program & Volunteer Coordinator at the Gwen Secter Centre) phoned me. He knew I’d be in trouble, so he asked me whether I wanted to start getting meals from them – which I did, right from the start” (in late March).
For Anne, just like Lisa and Norman, the meals from Gwen Secter have been a Godsend.
*****
Finally, I spoke with Cheryl Hirsh Katz of JCFS to ask whether there has been an increase in the agency’s caseload of seniors.
Cheryl indicated that has indeed been the case – primarily as a result of the Jewish Federation’s having enlisted volunteers to call seniors (and other individuals in the community who find themselves in particularly unfortunate circumstances as a result of the pandemic). Many seniors have been referred to JCFS as a result of those phone calls, Cheryl noted.
“We’ve identified those of our clients who are most in need,” Cheryl said, and have been keeping close tabs on them, including “sending out 50 care packages to some of the most isolated seniors with plans to send an additional 50 to another group of isolated seniors. Our plan is to do this once or twice per month while this pandemic lasts.”
“We have capacity to take on more clients,” Cheryl noted – and 20 more clients have now been added to JCFS’s caseload to this point.
While JCFS does maintain an “emergency food pantry” to help individuals or families in urgent need of groceries, “there hasn’t, as yet, been an increase in demand”, she said.
What there has been though, is “an increase in demand for emotional support,” Cheryl observed.
“Individuals who have had illnesses” have found themselves isolated and, one other agonizing aspect of the isolation we’ve been enduring is that, for those among us who have lost loved ones during the past three months, it’s been an especially difficult grieving period.
“We have our friendly volunteer phone callers; also our own workers are regularly calling clients”, Cheryl said, but for those seniors who could use some emotional support or would like to be added to Gwen Secter’s food delivery program, the JCFS welcomes your calls.
The JCFS phone number is 204-477-7430. The Gwen Secter Centre’s phone number is 204-339-1701.
Local News
Scenes from Shalom Square 2026
Shalom Square – the Israel pavilion, is on until Saturday night, August 8. As usual, audiences have been packing the Rady JCC gym to watch entertainment provided by the Chai Folk Ensemble and Kadima Dance Troupe.
(All photos courtesy of Keith Levit)
Local News
Nakba exhbit at CMHR – you can see it right here and make your own assessment
By BERNIE BELLAN (Posted June 26, updated July 19) The Nakba exhibit at the Canadian Exhibit for Human Rights opened to the public June 27. The morning before the exhibit was set to open to the public, (it had a private opening for invited guests the evening of June 26) we received a press release from the CMHR. That press release gave a very detailed description of what was in the exhibit, along with photos (supplied by Annie Kierans of the CMHR).
There is also a link right at the beginning of the press release that will allow you to watch the same videos that anyone attending the exhibit can watch. We reprinted what was sent to us without making one edit. We leave it to you to form your own opinion as to whether the exhibit is fair in its presentation, and whether it is lacking “context” – which is an accusation that has been levelled at the exhibit’s organizers by some representatives of Jewish organizations.
We have received many emails in reaction to the exhibit. If you have an opinion and would like to see it published on this website, you can send it to jewishp@mymts.net, but please indicate whether you would be willing to have it published on this website.
Here is what we received the morning of June 26:
Winnipeg, MB — June 26, 2026 — The Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) will open a new exhibit tomorrow that explores human rights violations related to the ongoing forced displacement of Palestinian Canadians.
Palestine Uprooted: Nakba Past and Present will be on display in the Rights Today gallery on Level 5 until 2028. Featuring personal stories told through artifacts and video testimonies, the exhibit presents Palestinian Canadians reflecting on their ongoing struggle for human rights. The small exhibit reveals enduring patterns of loss and resilience, helping visitors understand more about this contemporary human rights story.
Palestinian Canadian stories are now included alongside many other stories of forced displacement and human rights violations featured in the Museum’s galleries. Each of these stories contribute to our visitors understanding of human rights and help the Museum fulfill its mandate to foster reflection and dialogue.
Exhibition highlights
Personal stories and artifacts: Experience firsthand accounts from Palestinian Canadians sharing their journeys of displacement and memory through a series of five artifacts. Cases display artifacts like property deeds, house keys, and a traditional Palestinian embroidered dress, accompanied by short videos that deepen understanding of the impacts of displacement.
Powerful artworks: In her painting Bound Together in Gaza, Malak Mattar, a Gazan artist, captures the struggles and resilience of her generation shaped by conflict. Her work pays homage to Guernica, Picasso’s powerful masterpiece depicting civilian suffering during war.
Curfews and Closures, by Rajie Cook, bears witness to life under military occupation during the 2000–2005 Palestinian uprising, when curfews and closures were expanded and further limited basic rights and freedoms.
Cultural heritage: Discover traditional Palestinian embroidery called tatreez. Tatreez motifs and colours are tied to place, family history and regional identity. Patterns are associated with particular towns, villages or areas of Palestine. In this way, tatreez is a form of storytelling: a way of preserving memory, sustaining identity and expressing resilience across displacement and exile.
Poetry and reflection: Engage with Mahmoud Darwish’s evocative verses, inspiring personal reflection on exile, voice, and responsibility. Visitors can take a card containing Darwish’s poem and add a personal note, fostering ongoing dialogue beyond the exhibit.
Contemporary context: Witness striking images of current events in Gaza and the West Bank, connecting past displacement to ongoing struggles.
Quotes:
“No force can silence the truth we carry. Growing up in Canada, my children lived the Nakba through our stories. And now we watch it happen again, live, on our phones. When I see the images coming out of Gaza, I am not watching the news. I am watching my history repeat itself.” -Fouad Sahyoun, a Palestinian Canadian featured in the exhibit
“We developed this exhibit with a clear awareness that Palestinian Canadian voices have too often been marginalized, silenced or spoken over — and that anti-Palestinian racism affects whose stories are heard and whose suffering is recognized. That is why we intentionally centred Palestinian Canadian voices throughout the exhibit.” -Isabelle Masson, Curator of Palestine Uprooted
“Human rights matter precisely when they are inconvenient, when the question of who deserves the dignity of having their rights recognized is genuinely contested. These are the moments where having a national museum for human rights is most important.
There are people who believe this exhibit should not exist in its current form. There are people who believe it should have existed sooner. There are people who will visit this exhibit and feel that it does not say enough, and others who will feel it says too much.
We have listened to every one of these voices. We have reflected. And we have renewed our resolve to continue the difficult, sometimes contested, and often controversial work of building understanding about human rights. We are a museum grounded in Canada’s human rights framework, whose mandate requires us to bear witness to the full complexity of the human story. We are proud to open this exhibit because the story it tells will help achieve that mandate, and because this story belongs in the collective memory of Canadians.”
- – Isha Khan, CEO
Local News
Jewish Federation releases amounts to be allocated to each of its 12 beneficiary agencies
By BERNIE BELLAN I had been reporting on allocations given to the 12 beneficiary agencies of the Jewish Federation for over 11 years – until last year, when I took a break from covering our major Jewish organizations.
These past couple of months, however, I’ve gone back to looking at financial information for some of our major Jewish organizations, including the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba and Jewish Child and Family Services. (If you want to read my reports on the two Annual General Meetings held by those organizations you can find them elsewhere on this website.)
Over the years as well, I had also been adding to a table that I began to compile 12 years ago that showed comparison figures year over year for how much had been allocated by the Jewish Federation to each of its 12 beneficiary agencies. Even though I didn’t do any reporting on allocations by the Jewish Federation last year, I was able to obtain information about the 2025 allocations that I’ve reproduced in the table that you can see here. (That table only shows information for the past five years, although I do have tables showing information about allocations going back as far as 2014 that can be found on my website if anyone is interested.)
Looking at the figures for this coming year though, a couple of things stand out: For one, there will be no allocation for Aleph Bet Child Life Enrichment, just as there wasn’t one last year either. This comes after having received allocations for as long as I’ve been covering the allocations committee, so that might require some further investigation to find out why Aleph Bet Enrichment is no longer receiving an allocation. Secondly, there will be a small allocation for the Irma Penn School of Jewish Learning – as there was last year also, after a multi-year absence of the school applying for allocations. The Irma Penn School used to advertise in The Jewish Post & News when it was active, but I don’t recall seeing anything about it the past two years. At one time it was very popular among adults. It would be worth looking into how it functions these days. (Over to you, Myron. You used to write about the Irma Penn School.)
Also, the report of the Allocation Committee says: “The Jewish Learning Institute resumed their participation in the Allocations process after a hiatus of a few years to enhance their revitalized programming.” But the Jewish Learning Institute did receive funding in 2025 and 2024, so it’s not clear why the report says there was a “hiatus of a few years.” No big deal, really.
It’s always been interesting for me – and I’m sure for you, too, to look at trends: Which beneficiary agencies have been receiving the largest increases in allocations year over year or, as the case may be, the smallest increases in funding – relative to what other agencies received?
According to the report of the allocations committee, “The 2025-26 Combined Jewish Appeal Campaign raised $7,224,856 this year.”
That amount is $660,577 more than what was raised in the 2024-25 campaign, which was $6,864,279. While a portion of what was raised goes toward beneficiary agencies, another portion goes to Israel, another portion is to cover operating expenses of the Federation, and another portion goes to replenishing the Federation’s emergency fund, which was badly depleted during Covid.
Insofar as how much each of the beneficiary agencies receives,, each year the allocations committee of the Jewish Federation meets during the course of the year to decide how to allocates funds to the 12 beneficiary agencies of the Federation.
The allocations are to be given to the respective agencies on September 1.
The total amount allocated to the Federation’s beneficiary agencies is $95,700 more than what was allocated last year, and $193,600 more than what was allocated in 2024. There will be a total of $3,050,000 allocated in 2026, compared to $2,954,300 in 2025, and $2,856,400 in 2024. Interestingly, the total amounts allocated in 2023 and 2022 were higher than what were allocated in 2024 and 2025, but the allocation to Gray Academy in 2022 was exceptionally high – $974,000, compared with $900,000 this year. In 2022 Gray Academy was still dealing with the fallout from Covid and the huge increases in costs that arose from having to resort to online teaching.
As well, until this year, the most ever allocated by the Jewish Federation to its beneficiary agencies was also in 2022 – when the community was still in the grip of the Covid crisis and total allocations were $3,003,000. At that time the Federation tapped into an emergency fund that it had on hand – and totally depleted that fund.
In its report the allocations committee went into some detail explaining its methodology and how certain criteria were given special attention when it came to determining allocations.
Each of the agencies had representatives appear before the committee. Those representatives were given 15-20 minutes to make presentations to the members of the committee and answer a series of questions pertaining to eight different criteria.
Here, in summary, are the main criteria the report cites as “priorities” when it came to deciding how much to allocate to agencies:
- Social isolation and lack of belonging: “Longing for belonging,” a desire for a
stronger sense of connection to the Jewish community and Jewish identification. - Seniors Isolation: Does this program address the problem of seniors’ isolation?
- Teen Program Continuity Gaps: Gaps in programming continuity limit teen
leadership opportunities. Peer connection programs across this demographic
must be prioritized. - Building Jewish Identity and Connection: Strengthening Jewish identification
ensures every program builds Jewish community through authentic Jewish content
and context. - Poverty and Financial Barriers to Participation: Financial challenges can prevent
community members’ full participation in Jewish life. - Accessibility and Inclusion for People with Disabilities: People with cognitive or
physical challenges face barriers to full participation in Jewish life. - Exclusionary or Unwelcoming Environments: Language and practices may
unintentionally exclude interfaith families, LGBTQ+ individuals, Jews of color, and
others. - Data on Participation and Community Needs: Do you have data available on who
participates in programs, who is underserved, and what impact programs have?
Even after having subjected each of the agencies to that sort of rigorous scrutiny, however, the fact remains that the sizes of the increases given to each agency were quite consistent with what had been given in previous years.
Here, for instance, are the increases that have been given to some of the agencies for the past three years:
Gray Academy – 2026 increase over 2025: $30,000; 2025 increase over 2024: $30,000
Gwen Secter – 2026 increase over 2025: $19,000; 2025 increase over 2024: $11,500
JCFS – 2026 increase over 2025: $30,000; 2025 increase over 2024: $25,000
Rady JCC – 2026 increase over 2025: $18,000; 2025 increase over 2024: $10,000
What it all boils down to, I would suggest, is that the allocations each of those agencies received are consistent with what they had received in previous years, notwithstanding the supposedly rigorous criteria that the allocations committee says it adopted in reviewing the presentations given by each agency.
