A much-needed addition to both the Portage Community Revitalization Corporation (PCRC) and Portage Collegiate Institute's (PCI) Roving Campus program was acquired Friday.

(L-R) James Kostuchuk, Adam Trudeau & Victoria Espey. PCRC would sincerely like to thank Mr. Adam Trudeau, Mr. Doug Thompson & the Portage Toyota team for providing them with an affordable and safe option to transport clients. They know that the Sienna will be an invaluable resource to both PCRC and the Portage la Prairie School Division.

PCRC Executive Director Victoria Espey says they purchased a mini-van from Portage Toyota. She explains how the van will facilitate several needs that both PCRC and PCI have been trying to meet.

"It's really exciting," says Espey. "PCRC, a few months ago, received funding from Indigenous Services Canada to help support people in our communities, specifically Indigenous people in our community through COVID-19. The number one barrier that PCRC and the School Division are facing is transportation for clients; whether that's to appointments, getting some children to school in the morning (particularly in the Roving Campus), or transporting people who are experiencing homelessness to a safe shelter. We've just faced that barrier time and time again."

(L-R) Brendan Schaan (Wawokiya Program Coordinator); Mitch Tilk (Portage Local Immigration Partnership Program Coordinator); James Kostuchuk (PCRC Board Chair & Roving Campus Teacher); Brett Geisel (Teacher at Roving Campus); Shannon Muldey (Teacher at Roving Campus); Adam Trudeau (Portage Toyota Sales Manager); Victoria Espey (PCRC Executive Director); Monique Clement (Outreach Facilitator at Yellowquill School); Susan Hiebert (Outreach Facilitator at École Arthur Meighen School & PCI); Pauline Johnston (Reaching Home Coordinator)

Espey notes PCRC approached Indigenous Services Canada about the chance of purchasing a vehicle to help eliminate that barrier and enable them to transport clients when needed, and they were in full support.

"We're very grateful for the support they gave us to purchase this vehicle. So, moving forward, this will be a partnership between PCRC and the Portage School Division. PCRC will own the van, but it will be located at PCI. We're very excited about this partnership and the ability to have this vehicle be multi-use. It's going to do tremendous things for our community and it's going to help out a lot of people."

Roving Campus Teacher James Kostuchuk is also board chair for PCRC and weighs in.

"Especially with COVID-19, we've been through a lot of challenges, both as a community and as a school system, but we're meeting them," says Kostuchuk. "And the van will mean a lot to us in terms of not only just the general transportation of people that we need to move around but also we have an intention to use it to assist young people who would like to learn to drive. Transportation is a huge barrier in our community and we have a lot of young people who have difficulty achieving their driver's licenses. It's a significant achievement in most people's lives and this will help us facilitate that."

Portage Toyota Sales Manager Adam Trudeau says they're happy to be able to provide PCRC and PCI with the 2015 Toyota Sienna. He says this particular van should help them adequately with its has low mileage, good safety, and long term reliability.