About 250 winter jackets were handed out to students in Tuktoyaktuk, a community in the Canadian Arctic, along with hoodies, blankets and toys. The gear came from Wild Wolves of Canada, a registered charity started by motorcycle enthusiasts in Edmonton.
According to co-ordinator Grainger Thompson, the idea came after the local Hunters and Trappers Committee mentioned a need for winter clothing. With clothes suited to the harsh Arctic climate, children can get out on the land and take part in land-based learning.
It was the charity’s first coat donation in the North; it had already given tens of thousands of pounds of food to the Inuvik Food Bank. “A big thank you to all the people that have got organized,” said one local parent. The charity hopes to extend the project to the region’s eight communities and, one day, across the country.
