CAT LAKE FIRST NATION - The fly-in First Nations community of Cat Lake has one skating rink and a lot of passion for hockey. Now, with the donations made by WestJet, the children’s hockey team will strap-on their new skates and hockey pads to take full advantage of the winter sport.
"We knew the positive impact this could have since sports are an important part of childhood that teach many life skills," said Clifford Comber, manager, Materials Eastern Canada at West Jet. “We’re in a unique position as an airline to use our resources to distribute goods to communities in need of support.”
Since the start of the pandemic, Mikinakoos Children’s Fund saw the cost of delivering food and other goods to remote regions such as Cat Lake, Deer Lake, Kashechewan, Marten Falls, Neskantaga (Lansdowne House), North Caribou Lake (Weagamow, Round Lake), North Spirit Lake, Poplar Hill, Sachigo Lake, Webequie and Eabametoong (Fort Hope) increase by approximately 400 per cent.
Therefore, these communities rely on chartered air-transport services like North Star who plays an active role to ensure delivery of goods to the region.
Mikinakoos Children’s Fund, a charitable organization was created to address poverty by providing basic amenities, such as food, clothing, and shelter to First Nations children residing in remote First Nations communities, partners with local organizations and business to aid in the social and economic development in these regions. Then, Mikinakoos allocate funding based on the needs of the community.
“As our eyes and ears on the ground, we knew Mikinakoos would best understand who would benefit from this donation and how to distribute equipment efficiently,” said North Star Air’s president and COO Jeff Stout, “with youth, we have to bear in mind it doesn’t matter where the youth are these are the leader of tomorrow and a child's ability to play sport shouldn’t be dependent on a postal code.”
In support of Truth and Reconciliation’s Call to Action, act 89, to reduce the barriers in sports participation, the donations by WestJet and North Star will be used to support the health and well-being of youth who do not have access to the safety equipment to participate in the sport.
“Throughout Canada’s history, Indigenous athletes have been barred from participating in sports,” said founder and director of the Mikinakoos Children’s Fund, James Morris, “Mikinakoos is working to right that wrong by partnering with organizations that share our common goal of ensuring youth can access the necessities they need to thrive in athletics.”
In addition to equipment, Mikinakoos is planning a skill-building camp in Cat Lake with Junior A club Kam River Fighting Walleye. The two-day workshop was planned for last month, but was put on hold due to pandemic challenges in the community. But, now that equipment has been successfully distributed, Mikinakoos is working with Cat Lake to ensure this workshop takes place when safe.
If you want to help or donate to Mikinakoos Children’s Fund visit their website at https://mikinakoos.com/
