Greenspace Development Project

February 4, 2021

We need your help to finance our Greenspace Panther Sports Field. Your gift of $10.47 will support the cost of 1 square foot of AstroTurf; a gift of $94.32, the cost of 1 square yard, and provide a safe playing field for the children in the school and the downtown, inner city community.

All children need and deserve a safe, supportive place to play and learn. We began the Greenspace project to give children in our school and community a sports field to learn and play on.

Before we began this project, Gordon Bell students and community youth did not have a sports field. Children had to travel to practise and compete using fields at different schools or community centres. This is a hardship for both the students and their families who want to share and enjoy their children’s activities while staying in their own neighbourhood.

Students, staff and the community have worked diligently to raise funds, but we still need your help! Our primary goal from the beginning of the project has been to have AstroTurf installed in the centre area of the field. AstroTurf, a durable artificial field surface, will allow youth to practise and play competitive games at the school in a safe space on evenings and weekends.

To build the sports field, we have already raised a total of $412,200 through grants, personal donations, and school fundraising driven by true “Panther Pride”. In order to cover the remaining costs of the AstroTurf purchase and installation, we need only another $432,000.

We’re half way there!

As Margaret Mead once said…

“Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world.
Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.”

Help us change the Inner City for our students and the community. Your generosity at this time is greatly appreciated.

Arlene Skull, Principal

Click 'here' if you would like to make a donation.

“The starting point of all achievement is desire”

Napoleon Hill

The History
Gordon Bell High School is located downtown in the Inner City District of the Winnipeg School Division. The school is representative of the community and serves 57 different cultures consisting of a large Aboriginal population and refugee students from around the world. We have a wonderful and diverse community, but it is one that cannot always afford recreational options.

Our high school, unlike all other schools in the division, has never had an athletic field for Physical Education Programs, school teams, or community use.

Our students have always had to practice at other school locations. This means the school has to hire buses to transport school teams, often making it difficult for parents and guardians to attend practices and games.

Approximately two years ago, the property adjacent to the school became available for sale. However at the time, inquiries into purchasing the land determined that the cost was prohibitive. Gordon Bell students began a series of petitions, rallies, and marches on the Manitoba Legislature that raised public awareness of the school’s needs.( http://bit.ly/gbstudentsrally )

Community members wrote letters to the Winnipeg Free Press and Winnipeg Sun newspapers. Local TV stations picked up the story. Public pressure grew to include school trustees, provincial, and federal politicians publicly supporting Gordon Bell High School.

Canada Post, which initially purchased the land, graciously sold the property to Manitoba Education who in turn allocated it to the Winnipeg School Division for use by Gordon Bell High School and its surrounding community. Manitoba Education also granted $1.5 million for development.

Now, Gordon Bell High School has plans to develop a Greenspace for the school and the surrounding community.

The Greenspace Plan

In addition to an athletic field, the space will accommodate a stage, a cross country loop, a prairie plant gallery, and an outdoor classroom. This will provide accessible spaces to congregate and host games, tournaments, ceremonies and performances year round.

This space will fill a number of needs as a backyard for families, a sports field for the school and surrounding area, a learning centre, and safe place to gather.

This combined use Greenspace, will provide a safe, accessible and sustainable recreation and gathering place for the community.

How You Can Help

We are looking to the public and private sector to assist in raising the estimated $1.5 million necessary to complete the project through this fundraising campaign.

Your support will help to:

Provide and develop activities and options that help to build skills for the students of Gordon Bell.
Provide an outdoor stage for Gordon Bell’s Performing Arts Program and community events.
Provide a venue to educate youth & their families about our prairie environment in the plant gallery.
Build a complete community by providing an accessible recreation area for Gordon Bell High School and its surrounding neighbourhood.

How Do You Help?

If you would like to contribute to the Gordon Bell Greenspace Development Project, you can easily do so in one of the following ways.

Electronic credit card payment via PayPal: www.gordonbell.ca/paypal

By cheque made payable to “Children’s Heritage Fund GB Greenspace”, and mail to either:

Winnipeg School Division

1577 Wall Street East

Winnipeg, MB R3E 2S5

or

Gordon Bell High School

3 Borrowman Place

Winnipeg, MB R3G 1M6

An official tax receipt will be mailed under Winnipeg School Division

Children’s Heritage Fund tax # 8888 60590 RR0061