Charities win pot of funding
Three organizations share $15,000 from the Field Law Community Fund
Robin Grant
Northern News Services
Friday, July 29, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Three organizations operating in Yellowknife and the Northwest Territories have been awarded funding to conduct projects in Northern communities.
A student participates in a HackSpace workshop. HackSpace, a program that teaches young people about science, technology, engineering and math, was one of the three recipients of the Field Law Community Fund Program. It received $4,500 and will offer a workshop series for young people in the North with the money. - photo courtesy of HackSpace |
Given each year since 2013 to charities and organizations with interesting ideas, the Field Law Community Fund Program awarded the NWT Breast Health/Breast Cancer Action Group a grand prize of $6,000 to build cancer peer support groups.
The project, called Living the Journey: Cancer Peer Support for the NWT, will train cancer survivors to provide support to other people who have been diagnosed with cancer, including one-on-one peer support training and how to develop peer support groups in their own communities.
Rosanna Strong, a board member with the NWT Breast Health/Breast Cancer Action Group, said cancer peer support happens informally, however, there are no formal groups yet in the NWT.
"Having those people around you that have gone through a similar journey, it is easier to have a conversation," she said. "And it's easier to get support that way if somebody understands exactly what you've gone through."
HackSpace NT, which was awarded $4,500, will offer a workshop series to young people in the North that will provide practical experience in science, technology, engineering and math. Sasha Robillard, co-ordinator with HackSpace, said there is a strong need in the NWT for youth, especially young women, who are passionate and skilled in those fields.
"Communities in the North aren't getting a lot of this programming, especially for youth and especially trying to get young women involved in the fields can be quite difficult," she said.
"So we wanted to provide some of those resources."
For example, in the do-it-yourself electronics workshop, participants will explore technology by inventing devices with electronic building blocks.
"One of them is using Lego to build a robotic arm or build a remote controlled car," she said. "We're using just basic old toys and things around the house to create cool electronic inventions."
HackSpace is contacting women's groups in the North about its workshops to encourage more young women to participate, she added.
The Be a Buddy Not a Bully martial arts youth empowerment campaign in Yellowknife run by the Kamikaze Punishment Foundation also received $4,500. Its seminars are designed to help young people understand what bullying is and how it negatively affects the community.
The organization also teaches youth in Northern communities to live a healthy active lifestyle by way of martial arts training.
"We promote and foster the use of martial arts, such as wrestling, taekwondo, judo and amateur boxing, and leadership abilities, such as promoting healthy lifestyles and fitness and building confidence," said Brad Foster, a member of the board of directors for the Kamikaze Punishment Foundation.
"Being non-for-profit, our price margins are rather low compared to the private sector and we also do a lot of work pro bono with the big brothers and big sisters program and things like that in the community. We just want to give everyone, not just the rich, the ability to train martial arts and benefit from the positive aspects of it."
The Field Law Community Fund was established by the western and regional business law firm, Field Law.
"We wanted to be more purposeful and engage the community more and open it up so we would get exposed to more opportunities," said Doreen Saunderson, managing partner of Field Law, adding that anyone in the community can then vote on which organization they think Field Law should support.
"It gets the community engaged and letting us know which of the proposals resonate with the community."
Field Law donates $75,000 a year to the communities it works with in Alberta and the NWT.
According to the Field Law Community Fund website, its preferred causes support education, health care, at-risk youth, homelessness, women's organizations and community and sports or arts and culture.
