 As we welcome 2026 and all the new opportunities it brings, I want to pause for a moment to sincerely thank each and every one of you for your incredible past support of Misericordia Health Centre (MHC). Your generosity truly continues to make a meaningful difference in supporting MHC as it delivers unique and highly specialized care to Manitobans. Because of you, we are helping to build a healthier future for our community. Thank you.
As we look ahead, the needs of MHC’s patients, residents, and their families remain as important as ever. We are inspired by the opportunities before us and energized by what we can accomplish together. I’m excited to highlight just a few ways we can come together this year to make lasting and positive impacts at MHC. Please mark your calendars – the Misericordia Golf Classic is teed up for June 11 at Breezy Bend Country Club, InVision is set for October 14 at RBC Convention Centre, and Angel Squad will kick off once again on Giving Tuesday, December 1 – right here at MHC! Beyond that, we are excited to be welcoming the New Year with a feel-good opportunity for our incredible community to help fill the halls of MHC with love, gratitude, and messages that matter. From now until February 14, you can send the love and share the care! When you send a heart or a flower, you’re doing more than celebrating Valentine’s Day — you’re supporting compassionate care and the incredible teams who care for patients every day. Click here for more information. Together, we are changing lives today, while helping to shape a healthier future for tomorrow. We are grateful to have you alongside us on this journey and look forward to sharing meaningful updates on the powerful impact of your generosity in the year ahead. Thank you for being such an essential part of our mission. Wishing you a happy, healthy, and successful 2026! Kris
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 Lisa Stiver was on her way to work the first time she saw the angels.
Ascending the escalator in an officer tower at the corner of Portage and Main, Stiver encountered them — volunteers sporting sparkling halos, fuzzy wings and billowing gowns, inviting her to make a donation to the Misericordia Health Centre Foundation. “It was just really inspiring to see them,” Stiver said. “You don’t see angels very often.” Little did she know then that a few years later, she would get wings of her own. Every year, the Angel Squad descends on the Maryland Bridge for several days to solicit donations for the foundation. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the squad showed up downtown, too. Stiver volunteered with the angels for the first time 10 years ago after joining the foundation’s board of directors. She’s been a part of the Angel Squad ever since, and she’ll be there Tuesday morning as the group kicks off its 30th annual campaign. “I find it very uplifting,” Stiver said. “It makes people feel like there’s hope.” It’s the start of the holiday season, the 52-year-old adds, and this year’s kickoff coincides with Giving Tuesday — an annual event held the Tuesday after American Thanksgiving and the Black Friday and Cyber Monday buying frenzy that follow — that encourages people to make charitable donations. “It starts your giving day off really remembering how important it is to give to the community, and it brings people together who want to support Misericordia,” Stiver said of the Angel Squad. If Tuesday is anything like previous years, Stiver will be at the hospital by 6 a.m. so that she can help ask rush-hour commuters for drive-by donations. Sometime after the sun comes up, she’ll head to work. “Throughout the year people will come up to me and talk to me about it and ask me about it, and that’s what’s really wonderful because it’s obviously something that strikes a chord with them,” Stiver said. The Misericordia Health Centre Foundation is aiming to raise $60,000 during this month’s Angel Squad campaign. The money will support pediatric dental and ophthalmology patients at the hospital. All donations made until Dec. 31, up to $30,000, will be matched by sponsors. “I do think celebrating our 30th anniversary is a big deal,” said Kris Erickson, the foundation’s president and CEO. The name, location and purpose of the initiative has remained the same over three decades, she said. “The only thing that changes is it keeps growing in size — more donations and more volunteers. The essence of the Angel Squad has never changed and is never going to change. We’re really proud of that.” The initiative is more than a fundraiser, Erickson said. “It’s really about holiday spirit and it’s rooted in the MHC’s mission, so really what that means is it’s about community and impact.” It’s a mission that Stiver believes in, which is why, after nine years on the foundation’s board of directors, she joined the hospital’s board a year ago. Stiver said her parents taught her and her sister that it was important to be involved in the community, something that was reaffirmed by the law firm she joined more than 25 years ago. “I have been told that I’m over-committed to volunteer roles,” said Stivers, who has served with a variety of organizations in the arts, sports and health-care sectors. “But I try not to do more than four at once. That’s usually my max.” Article originally published by The Winnipeg Free Press on December 1, 2025.  At MHC Foundation, our team of professionals and community leaders is passionately committed to inspiring, enabling, and celebrating community support for Misericordia Health Centre.
We are delighted to introduce Michael Penman as our Board Chair! Michael joined Payworks in 2016 as Vice President of Finance, later serving as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer. Today, he is President of Payworks, bringing with him extensive expertise in finance, leadership, and community engagement. We are excited to welcome his vision and guidance as we continue building a strong philanthropic community to invest in the future of care at Misericordia Health Centre. What inspired you to get involved with MHC Foundation? “I had previously served on boards as a way to use my experiences to support organizations. After stepping back for a few years due to family commitments with my young children—who are now five and seven—I was eager to get involved again. Former board member and friend, Brian Taillieu, played a big role in encouraging me to join, sharing the important work MHC Foundation does for the community as the primary eye care provider in the region.” Looking ahead, what do you hope the MHC Foundation’s support will achieve for health care at Misericordia Health Centre? “My hope is that we continue fundraising to ensure the best tools and services are available to our community—whether in long-term care, eye care, or sleep disorders. I want us to raise the funds needed to be cutting-edge, reduce wait times, and improve recovery.” At MHC Foundation, we are honoured to partner with and empower a community of donors and supporters who help drive health care transformation on a scale that wouldn’t otherwise be possible. We look forward to working with Michael and the entire Board as we embark on another year of impact together. You can get to know Michael further on Payworks’ “The Works” blog!  The Buhlers were especially grateful to the incredible care they received from Dr. Mathen and Dr. Bellan over the years. Bonnie and John Buhler’s journey with and support of Misericordia Health Centre (MHC) dates back decades. Bonnie’s parents received eye care at the centre. After hearing an appeal from her father’s doctor about the need to expand the ophthalmology clinic and hire more specialists, the Buhlers became donors.
They helped fund the redevelopment of MHC’s ophthalmology clinics nearly two decades ago and recently made a generous gift of $1.5 million to the Eye Care Centre of Excellence. “I can’t imagine what it would be like to be without your eyesight,” Bonnie says. Several years ago, Bonnie, experiencing spots in her vision, visited the urgent eye clinic at Misericordia. She required laser surgery. “It was a long weekend, and the doctor’s shift had just ended, but he put his things down and took care of myself and another gentleman.” Going above and beyond is part of MHC’s reputation. MHC’s Eye Care Centre of Excellence is the largest eye care centre in Western Canada, treating over 40,000 patients annually in its specialty eye clinics and performing 15,000 eye surgeries every year. “As Johnny aged with macular degeneration, his world became really small because he was losing his sight, and it made it a lot harder,” Bonnie shares. “When Johnny had cataract surgery, Dr. van der Zweep did it. They let me stay with him because he had dementia, but they were just [as] caring of me as [for] him. It was amazing. They really went out of their way to make sure that he was well taken care of.” The Buhler’s latest gift, made before John’s passing, in late 2023, will continue their legacy of caring by helping to acquire two crucial specialized pieces of equipment for the eye care centre. The first is highly efficient retinal imaging equipment, which enables faster and more accessible assessments for patients. The second is a surgical microscope that will help with a variety of procedures, including retinal surgeries, corneal transplants, and cataract and glaucoma surgeries. Dr. John van der Zweep, head of ophthalmology, emphasizes the incredible scope of the Buhlers’ investment: “The entire team at the Eye Care Centre of Excellence is extremely grateful to the Buhlers for their extraordinary investments in innovation. Thanks to their generosity, our clinics are equipped with cutting-edge technology that enables the timely diagnosis and treatment of eye disease. Their support is quite literally saving sight and restoring vision every single day.” “I can’t say enough good things about the people at the health centre – the doctors, the staff, everybody,” Bonnie reiterates. “So many people that have told us that they’ve gone to the eye care centre, and there’s been nothing but praise for all of the doctors and the care they’ve received.” “John and Bonnie’s profound philanthropic commitment to Manitoba cannot be overstated. Misericordia Health Centre Foundation is deeply grateful and humbled for their years of unwavering support and heartfelt friendship. Because of their generosity, MHC is immeasurably stronger,” says Kris Gladwell, President & CEO of MHC Foundation. To see the full announcement in The Winnipeg Free Press by writer Kristin Marand, please click here.  MHCF President & CEO, Kris Gladwell (left), and MHCF Board Chair, Tracey Code (right) As we welcome 2025, I want to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude to each and every one of you. Your incredible generosity has played an essential role in supporting Misericordia Health Centre (MHC) as they focus on providing unique and highly specialized care for all Manitobans as we build a healthier future for our community.
The future of care at MHC is bright! Looking ahead, the needs of MHC’s patients and their families remain as critical as ever, and we are excited about the opportunities to further our impact on health care together. With your continued support, we are confident that we can make great strides in supporting those who need it most. Seeing is believing! It was an honour to be with so many of you last year at our signature MHCF events. Hearing firsthand how connected we all are to MHC is truly inspiring and I look forward to seeing you all again this year! Please mark your calendars – the Misericordia Golf Classic is teed up for June 12 at Breezy Bend Country Club, InVision is set for October 23 at RBC Convention Centre, and Angel Squad will kick off once again on Giving Tuesday, December 2 – right here at MHC! Together, we are transforming lives today and building a healthier tomorrow. We are excited to continue this journey with you by our side, and we look forward to sharing more updates on the profound impact of your giving in the year ahead. Thank you for being such an integral part of our mission. Wishing you a happy and healthy year! Kris |
