Brandon Area Community Foundation (BACF) today announced it will be provided $109,120 to support local charities responding to COVID-19 as part of a new partnership with Community Foundations of Canada, United Way Centraide Canada and the Canadian Red Cross, funded through the Government of Canada’s $350M Emergency Community Support Fund (ECSF). This vast national effort aims to support vulnerable populations disproportionately affected by COVID-19. BACF is among community foundations across Canada that are taking part.   “This is a vital step in the fight against COVID-19,” states Laura Kempthorne, Executive Director of BACF.  “Local charities and non-profit organizations have been working tirelessly to support those who need it most right now. This additional funding is a much-needed boost to their efforts. We’re looking forward working with our community partners, the Canadian Red Cross and the United Way of Brandon to flowing funds quickly to ensure no one in our community is left behind.” The Emergency Community Support Fund was initially announced on April 21, 2020 by the Prime Minister of Canada. It is part of a broad series of emergency response measures by the Government of Canada. “Canadian charities and not for profits are always there to help you, in your time of need. But the COVID-19 pandemic is bringing real challenges to these important organizations. With today’s announcement, the Government of Canada will be there for them so they can continue to be there for Canadians.” - The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Starting on May 19, BACF will begin accepting applications for funding from qualified donees. Grants can be used for a variety of purposes, including to cover staffing or resource needs, purchase assistance and more. Funding will be issued on an ongoing basis through July 2020. Charities and community organizations are invited to visit the foundation website for eligibility and application details. “At Community Foundations of Canada, our purpose to “relentlessly pursue a future where everyone belongs” has never felt more important than it does right now,” said Andrea Dicks, Community Foundations of Canada President. “We’re grateful for the leadership of local community foundations like the Brandon Area Community Foundation, who have been at the forefront of local response efforts since the pandemic was declared. Thanks to the Government of Canada’s contribution, our network will be able to unlock even more local impact for organizations serving vulnerable groups, helping us set the stage for more inclusive, resilient and sustainable communities.”

A taxi and car collided in the intersection of 16th St. and McTavish Ave Tuesday afternoon in Brandon. Brandon Fire and Emergency Services and Brandon Police responded to the crash, which sent the car up onto a curb, eventually striking a tree. Nobody was transported by ambulance to hospital.

A new trend making the way across the country involves people putting together gift baskets of goodies to leave on strangers doorsteps, with a tagline of "You've been ninja'd". The concept is essentially to deliver a gift basket to someone's doorstep, ring the doorbell, and then disappear quickly without being seen (like a ninja), in an effort to keep the gift anonymous. The gesture came about as a way to spread good cheer and kindness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Items in the gift basket may include a little bit of everything including wine, snacks, makeup, gift-ware, clothing, books & more. According to participant Erika Brittany Shelvey, it's basically a giant game of ding, dong, ditch. Except you leave a gift. Most towns and cities have Facebook groups called “wine ninja”. These groups serve as a central information centre where everyone who would like to participate posts their address and people can just choose a random address or someone they know. Erika is just one of many ninja's leaving gifts for people. She has left 16 gifts on doorsteps (11 this evening alone) in the Shilo and Spruce Woods area and she doesn't plan on stopping just yet. "I love giving gifts so this wine ninja’ing is right up my alley! A lot of people post pictures of their gifts saying they have had a bad day and we’re so grateful, and that’s where the joy comes from" said Erika. Brandon's Samantha Krystal Shupe and her family are also participating. So far they have made 6 wine ninja bags, 2 maternity bags, and 6 kids activity bags. They selected 3 wine and 3 kids ninja bags to go to people that they knew and the other 3 were random. Her kids picked a number between 1-11 (address lists on each page) then an address that didn't have a symbol and then they delivered. Her kids played the ninja's.  For the maternity gift bags, she created a post asking for addresses or someone to nominate someone expecting so they can be included as well. These they put names in a hat and dropped them off! "It's a great activity to lift everyone spirits, it's been fun for our family" Samantha told bdnmb.ca. "The admins for the pages are amazing and do a great job on updating the lists" she added. The Brandon Manitoba Wine Ninjas Facebook group page can be found here. A recent thread was also started on the People of Brandon Facebook page with pictures and postings of various gift baskets being left on doorsteps and links to different groups within the city.

Brandon, MB – The process of re-establishing public access to City of Brandon civic facilities has begun, with Brandon City Hall (410-9th Street) re-opening to the general public as of today (Tuesday, May 19th, 2020). While its response to the global COVID-19 pandemic is ongoing, the City of Brandon’s Emergency Response Control Group recognizes the importance of re-establishing vital, in-person services for its residents as laid out in the Province of Manitoba’s “Restoring Safe Services” Roadmap for Recovery. Services provided by offices on the main floor of City Hall (Finance/Purchasing, Economic Development, Information Management/Privacy, Licensing/By-law Compliance) are, once again, available for walk-in customers, while services on the 2nd Floor of City Hall (Human Resources, Legislative Services, Executive Offices of the Mayor and City Manager) are available BY APPOINTMENT ONLY. To ensure all services can be delivered in a way that is both safe for City Hall staff and customers, a number of protocols have been developed for safe interactions, including: Ø  Limiting all entrance to City Hall via the north door located along Louise Avenue ONLY and limiting all exit from City Hall to the southwest doors located along 9th Street ONLY, other than when accessibility needs are a factor; Ø  The presence of a Public Access Coordinator at the north door entrance to monitor public needs; Ø  Mandatory handwashing or appropriate application of hand sanitizer BEFORE proceeding to service counters; Ø  Adherence to the established system of arrows, safe physical distancing markers and stanchions installed in the foyer of City Hall, with a maximum capacity of 33 persons in the foyer space at any one time; Ø  The presence of Plexiglas shields at all public service counters; Ø  Extra cleaning of commonly-touched surfaces; Ø  ‘Health Check’ verbal questionnaire for any visitor proceeding past established front counters. The City of Brandon’s Emergency Response Control Group wishes to stress to all members of the public that if they are feeling unwell or are exhibiting ANY COVID-19-related health symptoms (fever, cough, runny nose, sore throat), they SHOULD NOT attend to City Hall and, instead, should visit www.sharedhealthmb.ca/covid19/screening-tool/ or contact Health Links at 204-788-8200 or 1-888-315-9257 for advice. City Hall staff will also be expected to adhere to these Shared Health guidelines to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace. A timeline for re-establishing public access to other civic office facilities, including the A.R. McDiarmid Civic Complex (638 Princess Avenue) and the Civic Services Complex (900 Richmond Avenue East) will be communicated in the coming days. Information on the City of Brandon’s COVID-19 pandemic response can be found at http://www.brandon.ca/covid-19-updates. General enquiries relating to municipal services can be directed to the City of Brandon Enquiry Line at 204-729-2186 during regular business hours or can be submitted online at http://www.brandon.ca/contact-us. (City of Brandon PSA)

Brandon Firefighter/Paramedics battled a well-involved house fire early this morning. Fire and police responded to Cornwallis Crescent in Brandon's southend to a report of a house fire. Crews arrived to find a bi-level house with heavy fire showing from multiple different points in the home, including the roof. Downed power lines were arcing in the backyard which prevented firefighter/paramedics from entering the backyard. BFES's ladder truck was set up to help knock down fire in the roof area. Manitoba Hydro responded to help shut off power and gas. Thankfully there were no reports of injuries. The home appears heavily damaged, if not a total loss.