Heartland Challenge

Thanks to your generous support, this year’s Heartland Challenge team is creating transformative spaces at BriarPatch Family Life Education Centre – a vital community hub that supports families through life’s journey, from birth to end of life.

BriarPatch helps families build resilience through all of life’s challenges, offering inclusive programming for children, teens, and adults. Their approach empowers individuals to develop healthy coping strategies without relying on substances.

Our Team’s Transformative Projects:

Outdoor Healing Space – Converting 2,600 square feet of parking lot into a versatile sanctuary:

• Installing soft, welcoming surfaces with turf, cedar chips, and rubber squares
• Building custom planters and benches for comfort
• Assembling a prefabricated gazebo for shelter and gathering
• Creating thoughtful décor that engages both children and adults
• Designing dual functionality: a play area for children and a peaceful setting for grief support programs

Indoor Enhancements:

• Renovating two counselling rooms to create more supportive therapeutic environments
• Completing an unfinished office space to expand service capacity

These targeted improvements build on BriarPatch’s strong foundation of community service. With the Heartland Challenge team’s dedication and your continued support, these enhancements will help BriarPatch better serve families seeking healing, hope, and resilience.

PPE Drives

The Heartland Challenge holds personal protective equipment drives to collect work gear to help those who need it. These essential health and safety items can be expensive, creating a barrier to those who need the equipment to find work, but can’t afford the upfront cost. Since 2019, more than 440 people have benefited from donations of work boots, coveralls, insulated workwear, protective eyewear, hard hats, and work gloves.

2024 Heartland Challenge: Transforming the Strathcona Food Bank

We partnered with the Strathcona Food Bank, a community pillar for nearly 40 years that ensures everyone has access to healthy food. Run entirely by volunteers, they served over 17,000 individuals with 5,566+ food hampers in 2023 alone.

Our 2024 collaboration delivered transformative improvements:

• Renovated front entrance – new furniture, flooring, dividers, cubicle space, and volunteer break room
• Created confidential office space – providing a calming, supportive environment for sensitive conversations
• Coordinated 40th anniversary celebration – honouring four decades of community service

These enhancements improved operational efficiency, upgraded facilities, boosted volunteer support, increased community awareness, and expanded capacity to serve—strengthening long-term sustainability and food security.

2023

United Way Heartland Challenge’s dedicated volunteers undertook and completed projects for the Fort Saskatchewan Food Bank. With the help and hard work of over 50 passionate volunteers from 13 organizations, efforts included:

• Building garden beds
• Installing rainwater collection systems
• Constructing a greenhouse, enhancing sustainability by enabling the Food Bank to grow their own produce
• Utilizing networks to source materials locally, often at discounted prices
• Championed volunteers by:
  • Creating a breakroom for volunteers
  • Sourcing aprons for volunteers’ shifts
  • Collaborating with a local artist to create a mural
  • Hosting a volunteer appreciation event

2022

United Way Heartland Challenge volunteers completed projects for A Safe Place, an emergency shelter for women and children in our community. The work of 56 volunteers included:

• Disassembly of 30 old beds
• Assembly of 11 new bunkbeds and 18 new daybeds
• Taping, mudding, and sanding walls
• Painting walls and pipes
• Painting 12 fire doors and frames
• Rejuvenating the shelter crisis room with new paint and wall installations
• Replacing crisis room door
• Cleaning the outdoor living space and disposal of 2 giant bins of garbage
• Helping staff with cleaning windows, floors, and general agency needs
• Painting communal spaces like entranceway and intake areas
• Renovating and redesigning intake room with the help of IKEA Edmonton
• Addition of artwork and mural

2021

Heartland Challenge Committee partnered with BGC Fort Saskatchewan, a non-profit organization that works with children, youth, and families. Volunteer efforts included:

• Building nutritious, fresh food packages for families
• Washing windows, mowing, and weeding outdoor spaces, and building new planters and garden beds
• Repairing and replacing atrium lighting with new LED lighting for energy efficiency, maintenance, and cost savings
• Repainting 39 doors in the facility creating a new computer lab with 10 workstations for the club to promote creativity and innovation

2020

Heartland Challenge Committee partnered with Next Step School, a supportive, alternative junior and senior high school for students who require a non-traditional, individualized program. Volunteers from companies across the community worked together to show students that their community cares about them by:

• Delivering 80 care packages
• Donating 10 Chromebooks
• Providing 100 gowns for graduation ceremonies

Co-Chair Leah Shaw, Sherritt

Co-Chair Megan Bates, Taurus Projects

Crystal Topilko, Pembina Sherwood Park

Stephanie Johnstone, Enbridge

Travis Budjak, Spartan Controls

Tyler Lehman, Keyera

Kristin Kirkland, Alexander Willowridge Construction

Christine Spear, Wolf Midstream

Ray Leckie, MEGlobal

Stephanie Zingel, Nutrien

Lisa Maddex, Dow Canada

Karla Johnston, NWR

Don Cameron, Dow Canada, Executive Sponsor