“We Always Keep You in Our Hearts”

JOHN WOODS / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Kirby and Marie Fontaine at a November 2009 news conference after their $50-million lottery win.

JOHN WOODS / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES
Kirby and Marie Fontaine at a November 2009 news conference after their $50-million lottery win.

December 30, 2015
Marie and Kirby Fontaine make a fourth huge donation to Rossbrook House and to over half a dozen other agencies.
We Always Keep You in Our Hearts

Kirby and Marie Fontaine reserve a place in their hearts for the children and youth coming to Rossbrook House. They were those same children many years ago. Kirby points to the area in the main hall of Rossbrook where he used to sit and look out at the action. He looks at a young child and says, “I was just about his age”. Marie walks over and voices a similar thought and Kirby remarks in surprise, “I was just saying the same thing.

This is a couple in sync with each other and their surroundings. “We never forget where we came from. This is our home.” Kirby points out the window gesturing to the falling snow. “Winnipeg is our home, Rossbrook is our home” he says and then mentions other places that provided them with support and kindness in their youth.

Marie and Kirby have the financial freedom to be just about whoever they want to be and to live wherever they want to live. They choose to be themselves and to live here. They choose to be kind and generous. They are grounded by their humility: grateful for what they had before they became financially wealthy and grateful to now have the means to help provide children and youth with similar experiences of belonging, of having their basic needs met and enjoying activities and outings while feeling valued and accepted.

Maria and Kirby are quietly going about being people who make a big difference: encouraging all of us at Rossbrook House and the many other agencies that have experienced their generosity over the years.