ROC Eastman Chosen as Beneficiary for Tim Hortons Smile Cookie Day

By Angelique Forest

The Steinbach Tim Hortons stores have chosen ROC Eastman as their charity recipient for Smile Cookie week.

This is an honour interspersed to them a number of times over the past decade. Most recently in fall of 2021, the smile cookie campaign raised over $20,000 for the family recreation-focused group.

“As is with every fundraiser we do, we are grateful for any amount, and go in with no expectations,” said Steph McLean, Development Coordinator and Family Recreation Practitioner for ROC Eastman. “Tim Hortons does an amazing job at promoting this great event, and gives us wonderful tools so we can promote it as well, so we are confident that it will be successful in raising both awareness and funds. Big or small, every portion makes an impact.”

Many children and families who are just starting to find activities that they love are supported by ROC Eastman, and fundraisers like Smile Cookie Week provide ROC Eastman with funds to be able to continue to reduce barriers to these activities for these kids. In summer, common barriers are transportation, safety (access to equipment like life jackets, sport helmets, etc) and the ability to find activities that entire families can attend together.

ROC’s fundraising goal for the 2023/24 year is $277,960.

“With numerous fundraisers and events on the horizon, we are excited to work towards this goal so we can continue to expand our services into more rural and secluded communities in the Eastman region, supporting new families with their individual and unique needs to reduce recreation barriers,” added McLean. “ROC is surrounded by such a wonderful and supportive community!” years ago. Then 20 years ago, the business moved uptown to the Clearspring Mall, where it has continued and grown over the years to the point where their available space was starting to feel very limited.

This year an opportunity presented itself to buy a suitable building on Main Street, and the owners decided it was a perfect time to move back to their roots in the downtown core. The new building gives them approximately three times as much floor space as they had in the mall.

“The local merchants and the Chamber have been very welcoming,” said Amanda Lanteigne. “We wanted to build a legacy for our children to continue the business into the future, and there are many advantages to being downtown.”

Amanda said that with the new Steinbach Credit Union building being just down the street there are a lot more people walking around during the daytime, and that there are many people who live around the downtown area who don’t drive so they really appreciate being able to walk to nearby stores for their shopping.

Additionally, the newly planned Southeast Event Centre will be located downtown, replacing the current Centennial Arena, and connecting to the existing community plaza, T.G. Smith Arena, Stein- bach Curling Club, and Keystone Theatre. The facility will include a main venue that can be used for concerts, events, ice sports, tradeshows, and ceremonies as well as a multi-use hall/gymnasium and atrium. This is now seen as more reasons to locate a business in the core of the city.

The downtown location of the Southeast Event Centre is in line with the City of Steinbach’s Official Community Plan, which maintains downtown as a dynamic public space, and realizes significant construction benefits from existing infrastructure and services. The facility design also provides for ample parking.

Hello readers and welcome to another spring (or should I say, springish?) month. That’s right, the snow has finally melted away from all but the most hidden places, the birds have returned and my wife and I have even heard the frogs beginning their springtime serenading. It is great to feel the sun, on the days that it peeks out from behind the clouds, and to feel the warmth carried in the wind, on the rare days when it’s not raining. Much like a renovation job, things need to get messy before things get better. Thankfully, like the years that have passed before, we know that things will get better.

One recent issue that my wife and I have found ourselves dealing with is with our vehicle. It seems that it had started out slowly and stealthily until the moment arrived where we realized that there was an issue and that it needed to be dealt with. It appears that both our rear struts have become worn out and need to be replaced. Thankfully, they are not to the stage where the vehicle is undriveable but they are at the stage where the back end bounces. It is almost comical in the way it bounces as we hit a bump in the road or when the tires find a pothole. Much like some cars in the movies that have an air suspension that they can engage to make their car bounce up and down, I imagine that this is what it must feel like. Not to worry, the parts are here and the bounce will be settled soon.

A joy of spring that we have once again been introduced to is our wonderfully long driveway. Having been hidden beneath a layer of snow and ice for these many longs months it is great to see it appear once again. Made of what I can only imagine being grass, dirt, clay and an a-base layer, our driveway is a challenge during the wet springtime weather. With our driveway having become a mix between a mud pit and a rutted trail that is usually only found in the most desolately located horror movies, it has become quite an adventure each time we leave home and return. On the plus side, my son, wife and myself are very good at swerving and dodging holes and have learned intuitively where the soft spots are. This is a great skill to develop in case we are ever hired by a company that needs us to race their Baja cars across the wilderness. Fingers crossed.

Despite the challenges and the issues before us, we will continue to press on. The vehicle will be fixed and the driveway will become dry and flat. No worries dear readers, it will all get better and this will be a great summer to experience. Stay tuned!