Tbaytel is giving out $14,000 through the latest round of For Good Community Fund grants.
$5,000 of that will help students at Keewatin Public School in Kenora hit the snowshoe trails this winter. Parent Council Co-Chair Shayla Smith explains they’re buying 50 pairs of snowshoes for their primary and junior grades so they can safely exercise and explore the outdoors.
“We talked about ways to get our kids out and using the forest in a different way, especially this year where the message from the board, from the school and from our parents is ‘Let’s spend as much time outside as possible,’” Smith says.
She says a similar program was a big hit with kindergarten students, and the school hopes to give older kids the same experience.
“The kindergarten students absolutely love getting out there on their snowshoes,” Smith points out. “Honestly, I went with them when my kid was in kindergarten, and it’s so adorable. It’s such an adventure for them, they think it’s just the greatest thing to get these snowshoes on.”
Cat Lake First Nation won this fall’s other $5,000 grant to replace the boards on its aging ice rink so youth can play broom-ball and hockey.
Tbaytel is also awarding $2,000 to Pope John Paul II School in Thunder Bay. Students are getting sewing machines to help make clothes and other items for newborns, which will be included in care packages for expectant mothers in need.
The final investment of the year is going to the Safe Bed program in Kenora run by the Canadian Mental Health Association. It will buy musical instruments and equipment to help clients on their road to recovery from addiction and mental health challenges.
“Whether in person or virtually across our serving territory, we are always excited to get together and celebrate the incredible people doing such great work in the communities Tbaytel serves. Just as in years past, we are always so inspired by the diversity and innovation of the projects Tbaytel for Good will help,” says Tbaytel Communication Coordinator Jamie Smith.
“We want to thank the dozens of organizations who applied and the thousands of people who voted to show us once again the wonderful community spirit here in northern Ontario.”
