Grateful family helps kick start Portage Ukrainian Nursery School fund

Portage Ukrainian Nursery School has impacted a ton of local families, and one of them has decided to express their gratitude.

Tyler Cote, Michelle Nostedt, and their kids, Adele and Bernard, have donated $5,000 to start a new fund for the nursery school through the Community Foundation of Portage & District.

"You start up a fund with (Community Foundation), and as the fund grows and people donate to it, the payout grows, too, every year. I feel like this initial startup fee is just the seed for something that could be quite great for that facility and organization."

The interest earned from this fund each year will go directly to the Portage Ukrainian Nursery School.

Cote says the school welcomed his family with open arms immediately.

"From the day the kids started, to our final day this past spring, the school has been wonderful. It's like a family," Cote explains. "They're very welcoming and accommodating, and the space is great."

Cote's daughter Adele attended the nursery school for two years. She says she had a blast almost every day.

"You get to do art and have story time. There is rhyme time. But, you mostly just play all day."

Adele says some of her best memories at the school were the art projects.

"Usually, there is a special day where some people that are in your family come to nursery school and get to paint a big painting. They put some green tape, and then there's a different spot for each person to paint in."

Cote is grateful for all the help the school has provided for his family in the last five years and notes they initially planned to make the donation on their own.

"When we moved here about nine years ago, with Michelle being a doctor, and the heavy involvement in the community that comes with that, we noticed that Portage la Prairie really rallies to support all kinds of not-for-profit programs and organizations that need funding," Cote continues. "We weren't thinking about the community foundation to begin with. We just thought it'd be nice to put a donation in to help them for next year."

Cote says he couldn't be more glad to partner with CFPD to make this donation's impact last forever.