The port of Churchill has faced some some major challenges this year. Image courtesy of their Hungry Bears Food Bank. Click to visit!
Imagine if every Canadian did three things for their neighbourhood, their nation and their world this year.
This is the premise behind an initiative dubbed Three Things for Canada, designed to encourage acts of service across Canada. Spearheaded by the mayor of Calgary, Alberta, Naheed Nenshi, this initiative “helps us consider what gifts of service we can give to our nation — be they large or small — by considering our own passions and how we can help.”
We loved this idea when we heard about it and decided to put a local twist on it: 3 Things for Churchill!
Churchill is near and dear to our hearts. Its people and businesses sustain us throughout our Arctic safari season and its iconic status as the Polar Bear Capital of the World has helped us put our polar bear eco-lodges on the map.
We love being a part of the community and look forward to helping with the annual Polar Bear Marathon that takes place in Churchill each year. More recently we had the chance to partner with Sea Walls, Pangea Seed Foundation and Kal Barteski on the Sea Walls CHURCHILL mural festival that took place this past June, providing a much needed morale boost for Churchill and bringing art to the streets of this isolated port town.
Unfortunately, Churchill has had a few major setbacks recently.
The closure of its port meant more than 10% of residents were left without work. Major, late winter storms led to spring flooding which forced the closure of the railway into Churchill. And now food prices have risen and local businesses and tourism operators are already feeling the detrimental effects of losing the rail service.
While we can’t control what happens with the railway, we can help make it affordable for the residents of Churchill to sustain themselves until a transportation solution is revealed. So our third “thing” for Churchill this year is to help shore up the food bank so that our neighbours don’t have to worry so much about rising food costs.
The Hungry Bears Food Bank in Churchill provides the opportunity to do just that. Their website, graciously set up with the help of Frontiers North Adventures, provides a way for individuals and businesses to make monetary donations online.
If you are interested in contributing, please visit the Hungry Bears Food Bank website and quote ‘Churchill Wild’ in the comments field along with your donation and we will match these donations* at the end of our season.
On behalf of the people of Churchill, thank you in advance for your generosity! We hope you will be inspired to do three (or more!) things for your community.
For more info on the Three Things for Canada initiative, visit their website.
*Churchill Wild will match donations up to a total value of $30,000.00 CAD.
SeaWalls CHURCHILL mural by Case Maclaim.
Artist Statement: This piece describes the present-day situation of living in a remote coastal area of the world that is both dependent on nature and suffering from a man-made tragedy. It addresses the melting permafrost which is unsuitable for building infrastructure on, such as railways. In addition to this, massive storms and flooding are washing away the railroads, making them unable to use for the transportation of goods and people.
