Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 10/2/2015 (2048 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg winters can be pretty frigid.



For kids who lack some of the basic necessities — mitts, toques, scarves — it can be especially cold.



Enter Alex Arrigo, a J. H. Bruns Grade 12 student looking for a project that could make a difference in her community.



With the aid of her teacher, Angela Kaisser, and software-enabled solutions company Protegra, Alex’s Scarves was born — a project that hopes to get a warm winter scarf to any elementary student who needs one.



Alex has assembled a team of high school students who intend to make 60 scarves for children in Grades 1 to 3 in LRSD elementary schools.



"My mission is to make scarves to keep school-age children warm."



Using a process called arm-knitting, the students are able to create scarves with minimal training in as little as 15 minutes.



Alex raised her project goal of 30 skeins of yarn and 10 metres of fleece by Feb. 6, the target date. Supporters dropped off yarn donations at the J.H. Bruns Collegiate office and at the Protegra office.



Her next steps are to make the scarves and then deliver them to elementary schools in the final throes of winter.



The project utilizes Protegra’s new online youth social activism platform called Butterfly. Launched in late January 2015, the site offers a space for youth to imagine meaningful community projects, find donors to support associated costs, seek volunteers and create a buzz about the initiative.



The partnership project is organized within an innovative Grade 12 career development course at J.H. Bruns that offers opportunities to connect with the community and engage professionals outside the school.



Angela believes the community connection makes school more relevant:



"With support of the Butterfly project website, these high schools students are effecting real change in our community."



Protegra’s Chris Loewen, the creator of www.ourbutterfly.com, is working with the student team to help students learn the art of project management, a skill, he believes, needs more emphasis in high school classrooms.



"Having ideas is not enough — what needs to be continually developed, tested, refined, and shared publicly are the methods by which ideas become reality."



The J.H. Bruns-Protegra collaboration is part of a larger career development focus in Louis Riel School Division in which students practise skills such as ideation, project management, integrated design and collaborative networking.



Alex’s Scarves is the first project featured on the Butterfly site. Chris is also working with Windsor Park Collegiate and Collège Jeanne Sauvé in the hope of discovering new community projects.



If you’ve got a great idea for a community project that would benefit from using the Butterfly platform check out www.ourbutterfly.com or contact chris.loewen@protegra.com.

Adriano Magnifico is a community correspondent for St. Boniface. You can contact him at amagnif@mymts.net