Winn Adair, a sales rep with Sutton Group – Kilkenny Real Estate in Winnipeg, is hosting seminars aimed at encouraging youth to build a more positive future free of drug and alcohol abuse.

One of the schools they visited was north of Saskatoon on a First Nations reserve. Adair calls that experience one of the most successful to date.

After the school presentation, she says, “The teachers and the principal were very appreciative.  One teacher said, ‘I can’t believe that the students are asking you for CDs and DVDs.’ We told him that it was fine and we would give whatever we had available but he said, ‘’No you don’t get it. They never ask. They just take it!’

“Apparently our ‘say no to drugs’ and human rights programs were working. The students were adopting new ethics. Some students were also helping to spread the ‘say no to drugs’ message among their peers.”

Adair’s involvement in the project began in 2008 when she met a group of people who were coaching for a drug-free lifestyle. Her motivation to volunteer stems from the significant need she sees with First Nations youth.

“I am currently collaborating with a doctor from North Dakota who works at the hospital in Grand Forks. We are getting ready to start doing seminars in the schools in the region and as well in Manitoba. We are in the administration stages and doing fund raising.”

In addition to her initiatives to assist young people, Adair is currently a Canadian Museum for Human Rights donor and a Shelter Foundation Board Builder.