May 14, 2024

Winnipeg students’ heartwarming poems about home are runners-up in national writing contest

Local Grade 5 and 6 students each win a $10,000 grant for Habitat for Humanity Manitoba

Winnipeg, MANITOBA – Habitat for Humanity Canada has announced the winners in Meaning of Home, a national writing contest where children from across Canada share heartwarming poems and stories about what home means to them.

Grade 5 student Emily J. from Winnipeg wins a $10,000 grant for Habitat for Humanity Manitoba for her entry “Home”.

She joins Grade 6 student Winter W, also from Winnipeg, who wins a $10,000 grant for Habitat Manitoba for her entry “What home means to me”.

Habitat for Humanity Manitoba had a record-breaking number of entries totaling 2834 submissions across the province, surpassing last year’s 2710 entries!  Everyone who entered earns a $10 donation to their local Habitat for Humanity with their submission. That means $28,340 was raised locally and it will be used towards the build of a new home for a low-income, working Habitat partner family.

“We are so grateful to all the students that entered the Meaning of Home contest across the province and a big thank you to the supportive teachers who encouraged them to take part,” says Jamie Hall, Habitat Manitoba’s CEO. “The power of your writing directly impacts the number of Habitat Partner families we serve through the homeownership program. Congratulations to the local runner up winners and the thousands of students who entered on raising $48,340 in total for Habitat Manitoba.”

Across Canada, three deserving grand prize winners and nine runners-up (including the Winnipeg students) have been chosen from 15,000 entries submitted by grade 4, 5, and 6 students. Three grand prize winners receive a $30,000 grant for their local Habitat. Runners-up win a $10,000 grant for their local Habitat. All the submissions are poignant reminders of the comfort and joy that a safe home creates for a child.

Through their entries, students across Canada have raised $327,000 this year for local Habitat for Humanity organizations, bringing the total raised through the Meaning of Home contest to $2.7 million since its inception in 2007.

“Too many Canadians don’t have access to a safe and affordable home — a universal need,” says Julia Deans, President and CEO of Habitat for Humanity Canada. “Through their thoughtful descriptions of the comfort and safety of a home, along with the laughter and love it contains, these students are showing us the meaning of home through a child’s eyes. Congratulations to all the winners for their beautiful submissions.”

“Since the Meaning of Home contest began in 2007, over 120,000 students have shared what home means to them. With the support of Sagen as founding sponsor, these students have raised $2.7 million to help more families in need of homes build stronger lives through housing,” says Stuart Levings, President and CEO of Sagen. “It’s our privilege to support students in becoming caring citizens, and in providing safe and affordable homes for families.”

The Meaning of Home contest would not be possible without the generous support of Founding Sponsor SagenTM and Award Sponsor Urban Systems Foundation.

To read all the winning entries, please visit //www.meaningofhome.ca/page/winners2024.

Free Press Community Review – The power of the pen – Our Communities

Winnipeg Free Press – Students win 10k for Habitat for Humanity

CJOB’s The News with Richard Cloutier and Julie Buckingham – Listen to Meaning of Home runner up, Emily J. from Winnipeg and Habitat Manitoba’s CEO, Jamie Hall on CJOB