Winnipeg’s Jewish community is stepping up to support people evacuated from wildfires in the northern part of the province.
B’nai Brith Canada’s Winnipeg chapter operates the Kavod thrift store, which is accepting donations of clothing, toiletries, diapers, pet food, infant formula and other essentials for evacuees.
“The response has been unbelievable,” said Aviva Tabac, community engagement manager for B’nai Brith Canada. “It’s overwhelming.”
The store, located on the edge of downtown, issued an appeal on May 30 in response to the evacuation to Winnipeg of over 17,000 people from northern cities and towns such as Flin Flon, Cranberry Portage and Sherridon and a number of Indigenous communities.
“People started coming with things to donate right away, and they’re still coming in,” said Tabac, crediting Jewish groups such as the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg and local media for helping to get the word out.
To deal with the response, the store had extended hours on Sunday, June 1. “I can’t believe how much stuff came in,” Tabac said.
Fortunately, the 2,000-square-foot store had space for the donations. The donated items were checked and sorted before volunteers delivered them to a main depot operated by the Manitoba Métis Federation for distribution to evacuees.
“It’s just the way Winnipeg works, we rise to the occasion when there are needs,” Tabac said, adding more donations are needed. “This is a marathon with the fires, not a sprint.”
The thrift store, which opened in fall last year, is the first one to be operated by B’nai Brith in Canada. “It’s a pilot project to see how well it might work,” Tabac said, adding that the organization might open additional stores in other cities in the country after seeing how the Winnipeg operation fares.
So far, the store—which has three full-time employees and volunteers—is doing well. “Our goal is to treat people who shop here with dignity and respect,” Tabac said, referencing the store’s name, ‘Kavod’, which means honour or respect in Hebrew. “We want them to feel uplifted and supported.”
Manitoba declared a province-wide state of emergency on May 28, due to the wildfires, which have burned a total of 534,869 hectares. In 2024, only 43,141 hectares had burned across the province, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.
In Saskatchewan, there are 243 wildfires, up from 172 in total last year. Between 10,000 to 15,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes. So far over 600,000 hectares have burned, said the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency.
More than 4,500 Albertans have been evacuated due to 49 fires in that province, according to the Alberta Emergency Management Agency.
