By Karen Cay

Red River Mutual’s Spruce Up Your Story Funds Community Space Restoration Projects

May 16, 2022 | 9:31 AM

Red River Mutual’s community sponsorship initiative, Spruce Up Your Story, is back for the third year in a row with $150,000 in total to help restore well-worn, but well-loved spaces that are at the heart of communities across Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

“Spruce Up Your Story is another chance for Red River Mutual to honour and protect the places
where stories are already being made,” says President and CEO of Red River Mutual, Brian Esau. “Our goal is to be the insurance provider Canadians love talking with. To do this, Canadians have to feel like we’re on the same page with them – that we’re like a neighbour looking out for them.”

This year, Red River Mutual will help to restore select community spaces where people connect, laugh, learn, and share, providing up to $25,000 in cash to each space, with $150,000 in total to award to deserving communities across the Prairies.

On top of the monetary gift, the winners will also have access to additional volunteer hours from a crew of staff members from Red River Mutual and their local brokerage to help complete the project, if and when it is safe to do so.

Spruce Up Your Story aims to breathe new life into the spaces that are at the heart of our Prairie communities. The submitted renovation or beautification projects will be evaluated based on community use and significance, commitment to sustainability, aspects of volunteerism, and connections to a local Red River Mutual affiliated insurance brokerage.

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Last year, Red River Mutual awarded over $150,000 to support 10 spaces in communities across Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Previous winners include the Fort Qu’Appelle Library in Fort Qu’Appelle, Saskatchewan, where an empty parking lot was refreshed into an outdoor reading space with garden boxes and a gazebo; and the Manitou Community Arena in Manitou, Manitoba, that was able to spruce up their old rubber floor matting for top-of-the-line and much safer materials. For a full list of previous winners and updates on their projects, visit redrivermutual.com/spruce-up-your-story/winners/.

Members of the public can submit a project for consideration until May 31, 2022, and learn more
about the initiative by visiting SpruceUpYourStory.com.