MFC Spirit of Generosity Award Winner
Patrick Nickel Receives MFC Award
Sometimes, serving others hurts. Just ask Ladner’s Patrick Nickel — he knows.
Nickel, a second-year student at Canadian Mennonite University in Winnipeg, injured his ankle trying some new tricks while skateboarding. But it was all for a good cause; Nickel was hurt at The Edge, a Youth For Christ skateboard park where he volunteers five hours each week with inner city youth.
“Some of the kids I work with are phenomenal on skateboards,” says
Nickel, who was hobbling around the university on crutches during the
last month of school. “I, on the other hand, am pretty horrible.”
Patrick Nickel is on the mend after injuring his ankle at a
Winnipeg skateboard park where he does volunteer work.View Larger Image
View Larger Image
Patrick Nickel is on the mend after injuring his ankle at a Winnipeg skateboard park where he does volunteer work.
For his service at The Edge, the Delta Secondary graduate is CMU’s 2007-08 recipient of the Mennonite Foundation of Canada Spirit of Generosity Award, which is given annually by the foundation to students at Mennonite schools in Canada who have demonstrated a spirit of generosity in their personal lives.
Each Spirit of Generosity award winner receives $400 from the Foundation, $200 of which is given to a charity of the recipient’s choice.
While at The Edge, Nickel does more than skateboard- he also seeks to develop friendships with the kids and take interest in their lives.
“It’s about relationships as much as it is about skating boarding,” he says, adding The Edge seeks to provide youth with a safe space to hang out, develop friendships and be mentored.
Many of the youth also lack good role models in their lives, says Nickel, a member of Ladner’s Cedar Park Church.
“They aren’t bad kids. They just have had some bad modeling when it comes to discipline, school, alcohol and drugs.”
Nickel, who is studying youth ministry at CMU, says his time at The Edge has shown him why “some kids struggle so much and get in trouble with the law. It’s not because they don’t care, it’s often that they aren’t taught any better.”
“Patrick is committed to shaping future generations of young adults through a Christian model,” says Marilyn Peters Kliewer, dean of students at CMU.
“Through laughter, encouragement and a lot of love he is breaking down the barriers that prohibit youth from redefining their own future, as well as the future of the city of Winnipeg.”
Next year Nickel will do his practicum assignment (a requirement for all students who graduate from CMU) full-time at The Edge, helping to develop a new discipleship and mentoring program for youth.
“My goal is to build friendships and be a good role model,” he says.
This article was originally published in The Delta Optimist, Ladner, BC on Saturday, May 03, 2008