Barb Carlson from the University College of the North’s (UCN) Early Learning and Child Care Centre walked away from the Sept. 11 meeting of 100 Women Who Care Thompson with the group’s fall donation worth roughly $5,800.
Carlson plans on using the money to add pieces to the daycare’s natural playground, which they’ve been working on since 2014.
While they completed major construction on the site this past spring, the centre wants to add some additional play structures and maybe even a gazebo to protect their children from sun.
The daycare’s executive director went on to say that it is especially important to help these kids maintain a connection to the land since the vast majority of them are Indigenous.
“Having them out on the land and connecting to Mother Earth is a way to help them learn about their culture,” said Carlson, mentioning that cultural preservation is a major component of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action.
The Thompson chapter of 100 Women Who Care meets four times a year to vote on which local organization will receive a quarterly donation consisting of money collected from all its members.
Since March 2016, 100 Women Thompson has handed out a grand total of $85,750 to a variety of organizations, including the Thompson Crisis Centre, the Salvation Army and the Thompson Public Library.
Their Sept. 11 get-together featured two additional presentations from Abbey Ogunbanwo of the Thompson Homeless Shelter and Saraj Thethy representing the Boreal Discovery Centre, who also submitted proposals to get their hands on this fall donation.
Even though these two didn’t make the cut this time around, they will get another opportunity to pitch their respective projects at 100 Women Thompson’s winter meeting, which is set for Dec. 4 at R’ Place restaurant.
To learn more about 100 Women Who Care Thompson, or possibly become a member, visit their website, Facebook page or send them an email at 100womenthompson@gmail.com.
