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Most parents here know the luxury of being donated bags of hand-me-downs from neighbours, friends, and family, or at least the convenience of going to a thrift shop to purchase affordable items. Our goal is to help provide access for remote parents, too.
We are currently working with a band member in a First Nations community in Northern Ontario called Summer Beaver (Nibinamik First Nation-- ᓂᐱᓇᒥᐠ ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐃᐧ ᑕᓇᐱᐃᐧᓂᐠ). Summer Beaver is located 500km north of Thunder Bay, and is only accessible by plane or winter road. The population is roughly 350, and access to warm winter clothing is challenging. There is only one store in the community which is about the size of our average convenience store. This store acts as the grocery store, hardware store, clothing store, tech shop, post office and bank. Their selection of items is far from extensive, and the cost is astronomical (a gallon of milk and two chickens once cost me $96). This, compounded with travel constraints due to Covid, makes extremely challenging circumstances for families. We have already received countless donations of children's winter wear, sweatshirts, hoodies, etc. which have been, and continue to be, shipped up north via Canada Post. Our contact in Summer Beaver will make these items available for any families in need. Our hope is to run a twice annual clothing drive and fundraiser, summer and winter, to help improve remote northern First Nations communities, like Summer Beaver, with easier access to clothing for families. |
Hand Me Ups Ontario is now officially a project of True North Aid. We are both proud and humbled to officially announce and share our news.
True North Aid is a Canadian charity dedicated to humanitarian efforts to support northern Indigenous communities in Canada. They recognize the poverty gap and challenges throughout northern communities, and support various projects in order to provide assistance. Their efforts are categorized into eight foundational Stones of Support: Self-Determination, Reconciliation, Water, Food, Health, Housing, Hope, and Education. Under the category of “Hope”, Hand Me Ups Ontario has found a place to fit into True North Aid's efforts: Our goal is to lift the load and share the burden of families in the north by improving access to warm, durable, clothing. When we set out on our mission just six months ago, we didn’t know a humanitarian effort like True North Aid exists. We were completely astonished to find that there are such great people working hard to help mitigate injustices, and we are humbled to become part of this movement. By being a project of True North Aid, we can improve our effectiveness by accessing their network of dedicated helpers and coordinators, receive assistance with funding and transportation, and people can donate to our cause through their website, providing a tax receipt and an easy transaction. We couldn’t be happier to announce this news and we need to mention a huge thanks to Laura at @toquestotoes who helped us make this connection to Amanda at True North Aid. Laura also helped me pack up our skids, AND did it all between her own trips to provide healthcare in remote Inuit communities in the far north! We can’t wait to keep working and to see where this incredible network of people takes us. |