In the News: Drop Zone participant motivated to give back

An article written by John Kendle and published in Canstar Community News on May 22, 2018.

On Tues., Aug. 28, 100 brave individuals will rappel from the top of the Manitoba Hydro building in the Easter Seals Drop Zone, a heart-pounding fundraising adventure in support of the Society for Manitobans with Disabilities.

Since 2005, ordinary people all across Canada have become superheroes for a day and collectively raised over $16 million to support people with disabilities. Over the past 13 years all the money raised in Manitoba has stayed in Manitoba to support the more than 47,000 children, youth and adults with disabilities in this province.

Wayne Newcombe says participating in the Easter Seals Drop Zone is a way to repay the kindness that SMD showed his mother prior to his wedding.

If you’d like to become a superhero and take part in the Easter Seals Drop Zone - Winnipeg event in August, the time to register is now. There are only 100 spots available, so act quickly.

Wayne Newcombe, 45, will be taking part in the Drop Zone for the first time this year. He says he was motivated to get involved by a desire to give back to the Society for Manitobans with Disabilities.

Originally from Halifax, N.S., Newcombe, moved to Manitoba in 2001 to take an editing job at what was then the A-Channel (later City TV). When he and his wife, Michelle, decided to get married in 2004, his mother, Mary, who has suffered from multiple sclerosis since Wayne was a boy, vowed to walk down the aisle with him.

Mary knew she would have to bring her wheelchair from Halifax but didn’t want to pack her walking canes for fear of them being damaged. At the suggestion of a friend, Newcombe contacted SMD, looking for a recommendation.

To his surprise, the organization supplied Mary with correctly sized canes at no cost.

“When I walked down the aisle with my mom on my arm, I was almost in tears,” Newcombe says. “It was the proudest moment of my life."

“Ever since then it’s been in the back of my mind to give back somehow.”

Newcombe is now a client relations consultant for Payworks and says he had noticed posters and ads for the Drop Zone event over the years. He was also familiar with the event from his days of editing television stories about it.

“A woman at work was talking about it and she said they needed a fourth person for their team and I realized there was no backing out now, that this is my way of giving back to SMD.

“I’m a little afraid of heights but I’ve seen video of the Winnipeg event and I’ve even looked at the Halifax event, and I’m glad I’m doing it here,” he says.

“It’s going to be me conquering my fear and I’m hoping to have some fun at the same time.”

Newcombe’s Payworks teammates are Melissa Celere, Maria Polischuk and Kayla Robinson. He says they’re looking forward to the training, the fundraising and the event itself.

Visit thedropzone.ca/Winnipeg for more information and to register as an individual, as part of team or as part of a corporate challenge. Conquer your fears and change lives!