Local News
Cancercare Manitoba Foundation Challenge for Life adapts to changed circumstances
By MYRON LOVE
The 13th annual Cancercare Manitoba Foundation Challenge for Life 20KM walk (or 200-minute workout) has a new look this year – as a result of COVID 19 – with a smaller number of participants and lower expectations.
And, instead of thousands gathering on the second Saturday in June, participants this year are walking in small groups covering the same distance over a three-week period from August 1-20.
As usual though, several members of our Jewish community are making their presence felt.
Leading the way in more ways than one is Steven Kroft, who is both one of the leading individual fundraisers taking part in the Challenge for Life campaign and an active participant. (See related profile.)
This year, the top-ranked “Jewish” team is Nancy’s Nightingales with close to $16,000 as of August 13 – good for second place in the team rankings. This year, long time team members Connie Botelho, Joanne Katz, Harriet Lyons, Louise Raber, Heather Cram, and Susan Lipnowski were joined by second year member Rhonda Youell.
The“Nightingales” were named after a nurse – a cancer survivor – who is a friend of Louise Raber’s. They have been part of the Challenge for Life since the beginning.
“It is certainly a little more difficult this year because of the pandemic,” Raber says. “And we didn’t do the 20km in one day. Rather, we walked 10 km on August 14 and another 10 on the 15th.”
Cancercare Manitoba Foundation has reduced the minimum pledge for each walker to $250 rather than $1,000 this year in light of the current situation, she notes. Nonetheless, she expects that “Nancy Nightingales” will raise more money than ever before due to the larger number of team members this year.
Team Schvesters – also one of the original teams – is the only other team with a significant Jewish contingent among the top ten fundraising teams this year. The team was founded by the “Greenfeld girls”: Benji Harvey and her sisters, Lesly Katz and Debby Lewis. Two of the sisters had been diagnosed with breast cancer.
This year, Harvey notes, the team members are Benji and Deb, Kim Gray and Jody van de Vijsel. “While Les has not participated for the last few years, she continues to make very generous financial contributions,” Harvey says.
Benji, Deb and Kim all did a 15 km walk, 30 minute upper body core workout and 30 minute yoga stretch.
Jody is also having a garage and bake sale.
Team Schvesters raised just under $7,000.
“We are a small but heartfelt team,” Harvey says. “Even though COVID has changed the event there are still lots of teams participating in their own way, which is fantastic.”
Perennial fundraising dynamos Serratus Superstars have also been walking in the Challenge for Life since the Challenge inception in 2008. Team captain Cathy Moser reported in an interview with the JP&N last year that the group had raised over $370,000.00 since 2008 – through donations, garage sales, concerts, and bake sales.
This year’s team makeup however is much reduced from previous years. Last year, there were 25 walkers under the Serratus Superstars banner. This year, the team numbers six – returnees Moser and her husband Jeff Itzkow, Sharon Goszer-Tritt, Harriet Zimmer and newcomers Bernie Rubinstein and Sheila Kercheff.
Moser, however, remains undaunted. Her own personal goal, she says, is to raise $2,000 and the team’s goal is $10,000. “We want to raise much more though,” she adds.
The bake sale has long been a part of Team Serratus’ fundraising efforts. This year, as reported in the last issue of the Jewish Post & News, Moser has made arrangements with Rachel Nedelec and Madi Spence from Flour and Flower to sell Moser’s popular almond roca, with proceeds from sales being donated to Cancercare. The chocolate almond toffee cost $10 a batch and delivery is free.
“They have already sold over 80 batches,” Moser says.
Retired Provincial Court Judge Rocky Pollack has also been a long time participant in the Challenge for Life. He knows first-hand the ravages of cancer, having lost his wife, Sharon, to the disease eight years ago.
(While Sharon fought cancer for a number of years, she was also a leader in community fundraising activities for Cancercare Manitoba. Rocky has taken up where Sharon left off to a degree. He currently serves as chair of Cancercare’s Community Connection Committee.)
This year, Pollack is captain of Team No Judgment, which includes 12 of his colleagues. “It was a little easier this year having 20 days to complete the challenge,” he notes. “Some of us walked while others also did aerobics, kayaking and other exercises.”
Team No Judgment raised just under $6,000 this year for cancer research.
Sister Act also has a smaller contingent this year. “It’s just me, my mother (Pearl Rosenberg) and my sister, Cindy (Yusim)” says Brenda Dahle.
Pearl Rosenberg, may well be – at 86 – the oldest participant. She has lost two daughters (and Dahle and Yusim, two sisters) to cancer within about a year of each other. Naomi Palansky passed away in 2010 and Michelle Moyer in 2011. Dahle notes that Naomi walked with her family in the first Challenge For Life Walk.
(Readers may aso recall that Naomi’s children, Noah and Lexi, started their own team of walkers, “Kids Count, shortly after their mother received her cancer diagnosis.)
“I started taking part in the Challenge for Life on Team Chai in 2008,” Dahle writes in an email. “I continue to take part in the 20 k walk with my mom and my sister, Cindy Yusim, in memory of our sisters Naomi Palansky and Michelle Moyer, whose love, strength, and courage continue to inspire us. Money raised will remain in Manitoba and will be used for research, clinic trials, and to support individuals and their families fighting cancer.
“With this being a virtual walk,” she continues, “we are being creative in reaching the goal. I have gone on two 6 k hikes and continue to walk 3 k on a daily basis. I also plan on joining my mom on her morning walks in Kildonan Park. I have been doing regular hikes as well as walking with my mother and Cindy.”
Dahle reports that Sister Act’s fundraising goal this year is lower than it has been in the past due to the coronavirus effect. “In the past, my fundraising goal was $1000.00,” she says. “This year, I only reached out once to my former donors, as everyone’s circumstances are different, and with the ongoing pandemic, didn’t want to offend or upset anyone. “
Dahle notes that donations are still accepted at .
Annual Kick Butt fundraiser also going virtual
As with the Challenge for Life and every other former group event, Kick Butt, the annual fundraiser which aims to raise awareness of colorectal cancer, has also gone the virtual route.
Sid Chapnick, Kick Butt’s founder, is once again taking charge of organizing the event – now in its 13th year.
Chapnick notes that colorectal cancer is one of the three most commonly diagnosed cancers among both men and women. He points out that all funds raised stay in Manitoba to support colorectal cancer research, genetic research for Lynch Syndrome, as well as to raise awareness and advocate for the needs of people who have colorectal cancer.
Participants are urged to wear boxer shorts, pajamas or bathing suits, with prizes for the best Butt Cover.
Since 2016, Denny’s Restaurants has been the main sponsor. Chapnick reports that this year, Denny’s is contributing a lump sum rather than a portion of proceeds from restaurant operations.
The event this year is scheduled for Saturday, September 12. In the past, the 3-5km walk has been held at Kildonan Park. Due to Covid, this year participants can walk anywhere.
Readers can sign on to the Cancercare Manitoba Foundation website to register for the event: www.cancercarefdn.mb.ca
Local News
Further to the Simkin Centre’s financial situation
By BERNIE BELLAN A while back I published an article about the deficit situation at the Simkin Centre. (You can read it at “Simkin Centre deficit situation.“) I was prompted to write that particular article after reading a piece written by Free Press Faith writer John Longhurst in the August 5 issue of the Free Press about the dire situation personal care homes in Winnipeg are in when it comes to trying to provide their residents with decent food.
Yet, Longhurst made one very serious mistake in his article when he wrote that the “provincial government, through the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, has not increased the amount of funding it provides for care-home residents in Manitoba since 2009.”
In fact, the WRHA has given annual increases to personal care homes, but its allocations are not broken down by categories, such as food or salaries. As a spokesperson for the WRHA explained to me in an email: “PCHs receive per diem global operating funding based on the number of licensed beds they operate. This funding model is designed to support the full range of operating costs associated with resident care, including staffing, food services, utilities, building operations, and other day-to-day expenses.”
Now, one can make a perfectly valid argument that the level of funding from the WRHA has not kept up with inflation, especially inflation in food costs, but the Simkin Centre is in an even more precarious position because of the skyrocketing cost of kosher food.
“In recent years,” according to an article on the internet, “the cost of kosher food has increased significantly, often outpacing general food inflation due to unique supply chain pressures and specialized production requirements.”
Yet, when I asked Laurie Cerqueti how much maintaining a kosher facility has cost the Simkin Centre, as I noted in my previous article about the deficit situation at Simkin, she responded: “approximately $300,000 of our deficit was due to food services. I do not have a specific number as far as how much of the deficit is a result of kosher food…So really this is not a kosher food issue as much is it is an inflation and funding issue.”
One reader, however, after having read my article about the deficit situation at Simkin, had this to say: “In John Longhurst’s article on Aug 5, 2025 in the Free Press, Laurie (Cerqueti) was quoted as saying that the annual kosher meal costs at Simkin were $6070 per resident. At Bethania nursing home in 2023, the non-kosher meal costs in 2023 were quoted as $4056 per resident per year. Even allowing for a 15% increase for inflation over 2 years, the non-kosher food costs there would be $4664.40 or 24% lower than Simkin’s annual current kosher food costs. If Simkin served non-kosher food to 150 of its 200 residents and kosher food to half of its Jewish residents who wish to keep kosher, by my calculation it would save approximately $200,000/year. If all of Simkin’s Jewish residents wished to keep kosher, the annual savings would be slightly less at $141,000.”
But – let’s be honest: Even though many Jewish nursing homes in the US have adopted exactly that model of food service – where kosher food is available to those residents who would want it, otherwise the food served would be nonkosher, it appears that keeping Simkin kosher – even though 45% of its residents aren’t even Jewish – is a “sacred cow” (pun intended.)
So, if Simkin must remain kosher – even though maintaining it as a kosher facility is only adding to its accumulated deficit situation – which currently stands at $779,426 as of March 31, 2025,I wondered whether there were some other ways Simkin could address its deficit while still remaining kosher.
In response to my asking her how Simkin proposes to deal with its deficit situation, Laurie Cerqueti wrote: “There are other homes in worse financial position than us. There are 2 homes I am aware of that are in the process of handing over the keys to the WRHA as they are no longer financially sustainable.”
I wondered though, whether the Simkin Centre Foundation, which is managed by the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba might not be able to help the Simkin Centre reduce its deficit. According to the Jewish Foundation’s 2024 annual report, The Saul and Claribel Simkin Centre Foundation, which is managed by the Jewish Foundation, had a total value of $11,017,635.
The Jewish Foundation did distribute $565,078 to the Simkin Centre in 2024, but even so, I wondered whether it might be able to distribute more.
According to John Diamond, CEO of the Jewish Foundation, however, the bylaws of the Foundation dictate that no more than 5% of the value of a particular fund be distributed in any one year. There is one distinguishing characteristic about the Saul and Claribel Simkin Centre Foundation, in that a portion of their fund is “encroachable.” The encroachable capital is not owned by JFM. It is held in trust by JFM but is beneficially owned by Simkin, similar to a “bank deposit”. While held by the JFM, these funds are included in the calculation of Simkin’s annual distribution.
I asked John Diamond whether any consideration had been given to increasing the distribution that the Jewish Foundation could make to the Simkin Centre above the 5% limit that would normally apply to a particular fund under the Foundation’s management.
Here is what John wrote in response: “The Simkin does have an encroachable fund. That means that at their request, they can encroach on the capital of that fund only (with restrictions). This encroachment is not an increased distribution; rather, it represents a return of capital that also negatively affects the endowment’s future distributions.
”It is strongly recommended that encroachable funds not be used for operating expenses. If you encroach and spend the capital, the organization will receive fewer distribution dollars in the next year and every year as the capital base erodes. Therefore, the intent of encroachable funds is for capital projects, not recurring expenses.”
I asked Laurie Cerqueti whether there might be some consideration given to asking for an “encroachment” into the capital within the Saul and Claribel Simkin Centre Foundation?
She responded: “We are not in a position where we are needing to dip into the encroachable part of our endowment fund. Both of our Boards (the Simkin Centre board and the Saul and Claribel Simkin Centre Foundation board) are aware of our financial situation and we are all working together to move forward in a sustainable way.”
At the same time though, I wondered where donations to the Simkin Centre end up? Do they all end up in the Simkin Centre Foundation, for instance, I asked Laurie Cerqueti on December 15.
Her response back then was: “All donations go through our Foundation.”
I was somewhat surprised to read that answer, so I asked a follow-up question for clarification: “Do all donations made to the Simkin Centre end up in the Simkin Centre Foundation at the Jewish Foundation?”
The response this time was: “No they do not.”
So, I asked: “So, how do you decide which donations end up at the Foundation? Is there a formula?”
Laurie’s response was: “We have a mechanism in place for this and it is an internal matter.”
Finally, I asked how then, the Simkin Centre was financing its accumulated deficit? Was it through a “line of credit with a bank?” I wondered.
To date, I have yet to receive a response to that question. I admit that I am puzzled that a personal care home which has a sizeable foundation supporting it would not want to dip into the capital of that foundation when it is facing a financial predicament. Yes, I can see wanting the value of the foundation to grow – but that’s for the future. I don’t know whether I’d call a $779,425 deficit a crisis; that’s for others to determine, but it seems pretty serious to me.
One area that I didn’t even touch upon in this article, though – and it’s something I’ve written about time and time again, is the quality of the food at the Simkin Centre.
To end this, I’ll refer to a quote Laurie Cerqueti gave to John Longhurst when he wrote his article about the problems personal care homes in Winnipeg are facing: “When it comes to her food budget, ‘we can’t keep making the same number of bricks with less straw.’ “
Local News
Exclusive: Security Enhancement Fund to be announced by Province in coming days
By NOAH STRAUSS The province is set to announce a new program called the Security Enhancement Fund, which
will provide funding to religious and faith groups to improve security at institutions such as
synagogues and mosques. In an exclusive interview, Minister of Justice Matt Wiebe outlined the
plan and detailed what the province has already done to help protect Jewish Manitobans.
“What we want to do is to be able to provide the community with the kind of tools that they need
to stay safe and to ensure that everyone in the community feels safe,” said Wiebe.
The fund will provide a missing link between government and religious communities, and
communities will now be able to make their own choices without money being a big restraint.
Essentially, the power will be in the hands of community leaders and not government officials.
The minister noted that the new partnerships will provide the province a better understanding of
the needs of every community. Rather than the province making the choices, they are
essentially giving a voice to each community. The grants, totalling $1 million, will provide funds to enhance security at facilities like synagogues.
The Jewish Post reached out to Dr. Rena Secter Elbaze, executive director of Congregation
Shaarey Zedek. “It’s important that the government show us that they’re taking security seriously and stepping up to the plate to make this offer. We will absolutely be applying for grant money,” she said. Elbaze also wants to know whether or not the government will cover the costs of things the synagogue has already spent money on. She noted that the province has, in the past, made grants available to have security guards present.
When speaking about what the Justice Ministry has already done to protect Jewish Manitobans,
Wiebe brought up the new special prosecutor that is focusing on hate crimes. Wiebe said the
special prosecutor works closely with the Winnipeg Police Service “to support investigations and
prosecute hate crimes. Wiebe also went on to say how the Department of Education has been helping to fight antisemitism. “The creation of the Holocaust education curriculum is an important step in the right direction,” he said. When asked about Oliver Didtger Ederhof, the individual charged with 14 counts of mischief including vandalism of Shaarey Zedek, Wiebe said decisions like bail and police undertakings are decisions that are in part made by the federal government through the criminal code and policies. “We’re going to continue to advocate for stricter bail reform at the federal level…. I’ve been very clear, we issued clarified directives around bail to our Crown prosecutors.”
The full announcement from the province is expected in the coming days.
Local News
March of the Living 2023 participants form Taste of Hope project to help honour the memory of Holocaust survivor Alex Buckman
By BERNIE BELLAN The March of the Living is an annual two-week international educational program that brings thousands of students and adults to Poland and Israel to study the Holocaust, Jewish history, and the rise of the State of Israel. Founded in 1988, it features a 3-kilometer silent walk from Auschwitz to Birkenau on Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day).
Attendees on the march are accompanied by adults, some of whom themselves have been Holocaust survivors.
Following the week in Poland, participants travel to Israel to observe Yom HaZikaron (Israel’s Memorial Day) and celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut (Israel’s Independence Day), marking a journey from darkness to life.
For many years the coordinator of the march in Winnipeg was Roberta Malam, working on behalf of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg. More recently Abby Flackman filled that role, and now the person in charge is Lindsey Kerr.
Since its inception 37 years ago the March of the Living has become a rite of passage for many young Winnipeg Jews who have been able to participate as an organized group from Winnipeg and combine visits to the death camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland with the subsequent trip to Israel.
Then – the Covid pandemic hit – in 2020, and the March of the Living was put on hold for two years – in 2020 and 2021.
In 2022, the March of the Living resumed, but there was no organized contingent from Winnipeg participating. (There may have been some Winnipeggers who did go on the march that year, but if there were any they would have been part of a general Canadian group since there was no Winnipeg coordinator that year.)
In 2023, however, once again a very large contingent of young Canadian Jews – 51 altogether, of whom approximately two-thirds were from Winnipeg, went on that year’s March of the Living. That particular march was memorable for many reasons, including the fact it was the last full march since 2019 and was to remain the last march to have an organized Winnipeg contingent in the past six years as the years 2024 and 2025 were interrupted by the war in Gaza. (There were smaller marches held in 2024 and 2025, but again there was no organized contingent from Winnipeg.)
Recently, we were contacted by one of the participants of that 2023 march, Ethan Levene, who asked us whether we’d be interested in running what turned out be a very poignant story about one particular aspect of that 2023 March of the Living.
Here is what Ethan wrote:
“In April 2023, the Coast to Coast Canadian delegation of March of the Living was privileged to travel with Holocaust survivor Alex Buckman (z”l). March of the Living is a Holocaust education trip that allows participants to visit and bear witness to the sites of the Holocaust. Unfortunately, while sharing his story in Poland, Alex passed away. However, the impact he left on us students was immeasurable.
“While speaking to us in Warsaw, Alex told us the story of his Aunt Becky’s gâteau à l’orange (orange cake). While in Ravensbruck concentration camp, his aunt managed to write down this recipe. After his parents’ murder, his Aunt Becky went on to raise Alex after surviving. In addition to sharing his story, Alex tasked us with baking the cake with family and friends.
“Out of this, a group of alumni from our trip have created this project: ‘A Taste of Hope.’ On February 1st, university students from over 5 universities across Canada will come together to bake the gâteau à l’orange and hear Alex’s story. Proceeds from the event and this fundraising page will support the World Federation of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Descendants. Alex was heavily involved with this organization, whose mission is to both create community for Holocaust survivors and their descendants and educate about the Holocaust to help fight against antisemitism and all forms of bigotry and hate.
“Here is information from our fundraising page for the event – ‘A Taste of Hope’: Fundraising for A Taste of Hope.
Ethan added that “it’s completely student led, all by alumni from our 2023 trip attending university at these various locations across Canada; Winnipeg, London, Kingston, Montreal.”
He also added: “Follow us on instagram@tastehope.“
Here is a link to a CBC story about Alex Buckman: Alex Buckman story
In a subsequent email Ethan gave the names of Winnipeggers who are involved in A Taste of Hope: Ethan Levene (studies at McGill), Zahra Slutchuk, Alex Stoller (studies at Queens), Coby Samphir, Izzy Silver (studies at Waterloo).
He also added names of others who are involved in the project: Jessie Ages, Anneke Goodwin, Lilah Silver, Ella Pertman, Ellie Vogel, and Talia Cherun.
To find out more about March of the Living in Winnipeg go to: March of the Living