Every kid needs a good pair of winter boots in Manitoba. One university student is trying to make sure that's true for kids in a northern Manitoba community.

Courtney Engel is a fourth-year student at Providence University College and is a member of the women's soccer team. Over the summer, she was a basketball coach for Athletes in Action. She was sent up to Shamattawa, a northern First Nation community on the northeast tip of Manitoba, twice in 2017.

"It's completely different going up there," Engel said. "A little bit chaotic, but I saw a lot of kids surrounded by a few bad scenarios, but there is lots of good in that town."

One of the good things in the town was the skill of the basketball team.

"Honestly, the basketball team there was pretty good," Engel marveled.

One of the things she noticed, though, was the poverty many of the kids lived in. It blew her away.

"I live in Manitoba, I know how I live," Engel stated. "It was crazy to go a little further north . . . why aren't these kids getting the same thing that kids in Winnipeg are getting?"

After a conversation with the chapel leader at One88 Princess, a ministry of Eastview Church, Engel started a boot drive, hoping to raise winter boots for kids in Shamattawa. In a community where the average high throughout the year is +1.69°C, they desperately need them.

Engel really believes in this, dedicating time on top of her already busy schedule to talk to churches, ministry leaders and other partners.

"When I asked to start this boot drive, I thought this was a lot to handle," "The kids had a huge impact on me . . . [so] I need to do something for these kids.

"They deserve it."

The need is great in Shamattawa and Engel is encouraging everyone to make a donation, especially at the start of winter.

"These boots are going to go to kids who are going to use them until there is [only] a little bit left of them," Engel continued, stressing that the kids were constantly playing outside.

You are encouraged to drop off your new or gently used child winter boots at CHVN Radio, or at one of the following locations:

  • Fort Garry Mennonite Brethren Church
  • Oasis Community Church
  • One88 Princess

Boots will be collected until November 26, before they are all picked up and shipped out to Shamattawa.