Trailblazers Life Choices in Steinbach recently held a fun community event to support those who need wheelchairs. Day Program Coordinator Celine Harris explains that Trailblazers is a non-profit organization supporting adults with intellectual disabilities. “We provide activities, and we help support them in volunteer placements and work placements and help them get out into the community and find some paid employment. We work on helping them become a little bit more independent as well.” Collecting Cans and Tabs Harris says they accept both cans and tabs as donations. “That will go towards providing a wheelchair to a deserving member of our community. And one of the best ways is to crush the cans. So, it takes up a little bit less space in the bags and we're able to take more.” Because Saturday, September 27 was National Can Crushing Day, Trailblazers celebrated with a group event the Friday before. “We decided to just get creative and see how we can crush cans. We had one individual use a hammer. A bunch of us used our feet to stomp on the cans, which was oddly very satisfying. And someone even used their car, which was actually really, really fun to watch.” Harris adds that someone even drove over a pile of cans. “We were all a little concerned, but hey, she was in it to win it, and we loved every bit of it.” The group managed to crush 3,182 cans in just 56 minutes. “We actually ran out of cans, so who knows how long we could have gone for,” Harris says. About 15 people came out to support. “It was a lot of fun just to see everyone working together and getting creative on how to crush some cans. We had Gwen, the founder of Tabs for Wheelchair, and Bob, who is a coordinator for Tabs for Wheelchair, also attends the event, which was great to have them present.” Trailblazers partners with Tabs for Wheelchair to help provide custom-built wheelchairs for those who need them. “There are quite a few people that we support who we see their wheelchairs are just an extension of their bodies. And it's really important for those who are recipients of the wheelchairs to be able to have that opportunity to have wheelchairs that are custom built for them. It's made for them and their abilities. Everyone is different and every wheelchair is unique. So, it's really important to be able to help others be able to be more independent by providing the wheelchairs that they need.” The group hopes to fundraise for a shed so people can drop off cans and tabs after hours. Upcoming events and activities Looking ahead, Trailblazers will host Coffee with a Cop Day on October 1. “A local officer from the RCMP here in Steinbach is going to be joining us for a cup of coffee and some Tim Horton's donuts and Timbits. Hopefully he'll bring a few more friends over.” As the weather cools, Harris says they’re preparing for more indoor activities. “We're currently renovating our space here, and part of that renovation is hoping to have a bit of a basketball court indoors. So, we have a basketball net, a few hockey nets that were also donated to us, which is fantastic. It gives us the ability to stay physically active during the winter months.” They also plan to continue outings during the colder months. “We recently went to the Mint. We're hoping to check out the new skating rink at the Steinbach Events Centre this winter. We started our swimming program again at the Steinbach swimming pool. So actually we have a group who's out swimming right now.” With files from Kenton Dyck