Red River College Polytechnic
EN-10: Community Partnerships

RRC Polytech’s Building Efficiency Technology Access Centre (BETAC) and RRC Polytech students from Nursing, Architectural Engineering Technology and Construction Management are undertaking a three year project to provide building performance evaluations (BPE) and post-occupancy evaluations (POE) for existing and new long-term care homes (LTCHs) in Manitoba. BPE, POE as well as qualitative measures, including resident surveys, will be used to determine perceived quality of life in the built environment.

The built environment is a contributing factor for health outcomes, for example, poor air quality can be detrimental for people living with respiratory conditions. Additionally, poor air circulation can be connected to the spread of COVID-19. With approximately 10,000 residents currently living in LTCHs in the province – and the number of long-term care beds required in Manitoba projected to drastically increase by 2035 – the building performance project is an important initiative that will help inform critical improvements, impacting lives of long-term care residents.

The project is funded through grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) College and the Community Social Innovation Fund (CCSIF), and engages local industry partners Efficiency MB, fT3 Architecture, MMP Architects Inc., and the University of Manitoba.

https://www.rrc.ca/ar/2021/09/14/rrc-receives-grant-to-support-building-performance-project-for-long-term-care-housing/

In 2021, RRC Polytech partnered with the Indigenous Chamber of Commerce and the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce to make truth and reconciliation training more accessible for business owners by offering one free month of the 4 Seasons of Reconciliation Education e-modular training program to Chamber members.
The 4 Seasons of Reconciliation is a multimedia program developed through collaboration and co-creation with the First Nations University of Canada, its Indigenous Advisory Circle, and Indigenous contributors. The training creates an understanding of the history of colonization in Canada and how it impacts current issues and Indigenous peoples today through engaging slideshows, short videos, documentary films and mini-quizzes. It also provides the knowledge required for informed, respectful and effective engagement in the classroom and workplace.
This initiative focused on helping businesses learn their role in Call to Action #92 from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, and helped create a foundation of knowledge for businesses and their teams to build on.

https://www.rrc.ca/news/2021/08/03/rrc-partners-with-winnipeg-and-indigenous-chambers-of-commerce-to-provide-free-reconciliation-training-for-businesses/

In 2021, RRC Polytech partnered with La Tablée des Chefs in their second phase of the Solidarity Kitchens initiative, which produced over 500,000 meals for food banks across Canada.

La Tablée des Chefs is a charity whose mission is to fight against food insecurity and educate young people to develop their food autonomy. Its Solidarity Kitchens initiative began at the start of the pandemic, when the organization was approached by suppliers, farmers, restaurants, hotels and large venue sites who wanted to donate food that would otherwise go to waste. La Tablée des Chefs worked with distributors to deliver the food to revived kitchens, where the food would then be cooked and frozen.

A local chef teamed up with three students from RRC’s Culinary Skills prepped and packaged 100,000 meals for distribution locally through Harvest Manitoba’s community food network of more than 325 food banks and partners agencies across Manitoba including soup kitchens, schools and daycares.

https://www.rrc.ca/news/2021/06/03/students-staff-partner-with-solidarity-kitchens-to-provide-meals-for-food-banks-across-canada/