This is Krista Winsor’s story, our Golfworld Coordinator and an ILS & CSW Team Member in Peace River
Krista has been with the organization for 14 and a half years and was hired on as a Community Support Worker in our Wilcox Residence and was the Wilcox Residential Coordinator for over 13 years.
Krista is originally from Eastern Canada, born in Labrador and has lived in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba, British Columbia and finally Alberta where she lives on a hobby farm. Also, on the farm are five cats, five working dogs (a full dog sled team) as well as chickens and rabbits.
Before joining our team, Krista assisted an Individual diagnosed with FASD and severe behaviours in BC and after moving to Grimshaw in 2005, worked at a women’s shelter.
What is one of your fondest memories at ASLS? “I think one of my fondest memories is at Easter Seals Camp Horizon. Most of the individuals I care for are physically disabled. They cannot experience the things in life that you or I can experience. For example, you or I can go on hikes, we can go for bike rides, we can do obstacle courses, or we can even go rafting. People with physical disabilities have huge barriers and cannot experience these things at all. Well at this camp, the individuals I care for are able to do a high ropes course, they can ride a bike, they can even go river rafting! To see the smiles and the excitement on their face makes the job worth every day!”
What are you most surprised about working here? “I think it is the versatility and drive that our individuals have. The joy that they have in every single situation, it puts a smile on my face every day.”
How has the company changed since you started? “There have been so many changes. The company has become huge! When I first started there was the ILS program, the 49th residence, Wilcox residence and Peace River residence. Now there are so many homes! It’s exciting to see the changes and growth.”
Quick facts about Krista:
– If she could get paid to travel, she would!
– If she could have lunch with anyone, alive or dead she would choose Mary, Queen of Scots.
– She has an ear for music, she can play many instruments, including, baritone, flute, all the Irish whistles, Saxophone, some piano and bass guitar. She can also sing, after many years of voice lessons. She can pick up almost any instrument and learn it.
What do most people not know about you that you would like them to know? “When I was 19 years old, I went on a trip to Africa, a place in Zimbabwe called Tshlenemba, it was a mission trip. While there we did some pretty amazing things. We helped rebuild the maternity ward, Tuberculosis ward and the AIDS ward in the local hospital. We went to 7 different schools and made lunch for all the children. We taught the women to cook and to sew and the men to do some mechanics. We built some houses for some orphans and hired people to care for them. We worked very closely with the children while there. Watching the way that they live. It was a life-changing, amazing and very heart-breaking experience. It was a trip of a lifetime that I will never forget, and if the opportunity came up, to work in an orphanage, I’d be there in a heartbeat!”
Krista and friend Cassidy Taylor