A Good Samaritan
Former Mountie helps bring equipment to Kivalliq youth
Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, January 14, 2015
BAKER LAKE
Youth players in the Baker Lake Minor Hockey Association were all smiles while receiving a wide variety of donated hockey equipment this past month.
Jeff Seeteenak, left, of the Baker Lake Minor Hockey Association helps, from front to back, Jason Putumiraqtuq, Nadia Aaruaq, Edward Tookanachiak and Moses Tookanachiak Jr. select used hockey equipment sent to the community by retired RCMP officer Barry Hickman this past month. - photo courtesy of Karen Yip |
The gear was donated to Baker's minorhockey program by Barry Hickman of Northern Dreams - A Smile 1 Skate at a time.
Hickman, a retired RCMP officer living in British Columbia, used to work in the North and recognized the need for hockey equipment in many hamlets.
Calm Air has shipped Hickman's donated equipment to minorhockey players in Baker Lake, Arviat and Whale Cove to date.
Hickman spent more than 35 years as an RCMP officer.
He said, throughout his travels, he was always able to relate to life in a small community, having come from one himself.
"I grew up in a situation where there were 45 kids in five houses, so that meant always having hand-me-downs," said Hickman.
"So, I always tried to reach out and help anytime I was sent into a small, isolated community.
"I also did a United Nations tour in Bosnia and, over there, youth and seniors always seemed to get left behind in most situations.
"As a peacekeeper in a Serbian village there in '93-94, we probably had about 1.5 tons of school supplies sent in to help the kids who didn't even have paper in school."
Hickman also helped get humanitarian and hygienic supplies into the area with the help of a Norwegian friend.
He said the experience really helped him realize you can make a difference in anyone's life, even if it's only temporary.
"Yes, if you reach out to people, you really can make a difference.
"And who knows what happens later on in their life, right?
"The kid who uses donated gear you had sent up there this year could become the next Jordin Tootoo.
"You just never know."
Hickman once had 75 youths playing baseball for a summer when he was stationed in Sanikiluaq.
He brought 45 gloves, along with bats and balls, into the community and, every day, they would fill the back of a truck with the stones they cleared off of a field in order to be able to play.
"The manager of the Co-op there at the time would bring out a couple of flats of juice and pop.
"So, after we did all the work and played the game, we'd just kind of hang out together and the kids would tell me different stories.
"It was a lot of fun, so I left the gear there when I moved on in hopes the kids would continue to enjoy it."
Hickman still plays hockey at the age of 61.
He uses his friends, family and hockey connections to collect used hockey equipment that's still in good condition.
Hickman said young people outgrow their gear quickly, and, in the south, they often have their previous equipment just hanging around in a basement or garage.
He said he doesn't turn anything down, but he rarely receives anything no longer usable in any way.
"Stuff they've outgrown and is just hanging around gathering dust is like gold to many kids in the North.
"Calm Air came on-board with me during the past year and, anytime there's room on a plane, it will fly the donated gear into one of the communities it services.
"It provides that service free and another friend I play hockey with owns the J&R Hall Transport Inc. trucking company, and he transports the gear all the way to Winnipeg from British Columbia.
"I sent 64 bags this past October, which included more than 100 pairs of skates, and Calm Air has been getting it into the different communities like Whale Cove and Baker Lake among others."
Hickman said the price of today's skates are expensive, and, although he appreciates each and every donation, he gets excited to see a practically new pair donated.
He said although he will probably never see their faces, he knows the Northern youths who get a pair of skates their family couldn't afford are beaming from ear to ear as they head to their local arena.
"I do get pairs of figure skates donated, and it's hard to turn them down, but I know most of the young girls in the isolated communities would rather play hockey.
"And that's where my focus is, getting this equipment into the hands of kids in the smaller, isolated communities.
"As long as I have these wonderful two connections helping me out, in my buddy's trucking company and Calm Air, I'll continue getting as much hockey gear to the Nunavut kids as I can.
"The guys are very accommodating at the trucking company in Winnipeg, too, bringing the gear right over when Calm Air calls to tell them it has room on a plane, and they do it all voluntarily, on their own time, because they know it's for a great cause."
