A summer Stroll to enrich care-home residents’ souls

If you’re looking for Selma Gilfix on Tuesday evening, she’ll be in southwest Winnipeg doing the Simkin Stroll.

It’s not the latest TikTok dance craze but an annual fundraiser for the Saul and Claribel Simkin Centre, a personal-care home with about 200 residents.

Residents, family and supporters will participate in the walk in an effort to raise $80,000 for evening and weekend recreation services at the facility.

Gilfix helped organize the first Simkin Stroll more than 10 years ago when she sat on the board of directors.

“I wanted to help make Simkin the No. 1 place to be,” she says.

The 68-year-old Tuxedo resident has experienced first-hand the good work that staff do at the home, which was founded in 1915 as the Winnipeg Old Folks Jewish Home.

Her parents, Max and Molly Pressman, were residents before they died.

Knowing her parents were in a safe place where their food, medication and social needs were looked after took the pressure off Gilfix.

“It was really wonderful for me,” she says. “It’s a good place.”

Gilfix served on Simkin’s board for 10 years, including two years as chair.

Now she volunteers every week singing alto at Friday Night Lights, a 35-minute program that helps residents usher in the Jewish Sabbath.

Gilfix has always enjoyed singing and it’s an important part of her family’s history: Max and Molly met while singing in a choir together.

Molly had dementia and was non-
verbal during her final years, but she still responded to music.

“She would tap her foot. She was in there,” Gilfix says, adding that seeing how much music means to residents motivates her to sing for them. “That’s my contribution to the people that are there. It makes me happy but I also see it’s important to them, too.”

Gilfix enjoys interacting with residents, whether it’s a simple smile and a greeting, giving them a pat on the back or offering a shoulder rub.

“I don’t think people realize how important physical contact is, and so I do get a lot of satisfaction out of that.”

Gilfix work for 42 years as a registered nurse at Children’s Hospital, and touching patients was a way she expressed care and offered comfort.

“Once a nurse, always a nurse,” she says. “If I can make someone feel good for four or five minutes, it makes me happy.”

Residents trust Gilfix and enjoy being in her presence, says Heather Blackman, the Simkin Centre’s volunteer manager.

“It’s hard to convey in words the wonderful rapport she has,” Blackman says. “She exudes warmth.”

It’s not too late to get involved with the Simkin Stroll, which will include a barbecue, petting zoo, raffle and other entertainment.

Call 204-589-9027 for information or to make a donation.

Blackman is also looking for dedicated volunteers to assist with recreation services and programming throughout the year, particularly during evenings and weekends.

Send email to heather.blackman@simkincentre.ca, call 204-589-9008 or visit simkincentre.ca/volunteer for details.

“The volunteers we have are indispensable and with them we can do so much more at the centre,” Blackman says. “It really broadens our horizons here.”

If you know a special volunteer, please contact aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca.

Aaron Epp
Reporter

Aaron Epp reports on business for the Free Press. After freelancing for the paper for a decade, he joined the staff full-time in 2024. He was previously the associate editor at Canadian Mennonite. Read more about Aaron.

In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the Free Press’s editing team before being posted online or published in print. It’s part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.

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