About 40 percent of Indigenous children in Canada live in poverty. As such, many of them can’t afford necessary school supplies or even warm outerwear for winter.
Videos by InspireMore
Fortunately, there’s no shortage of generosity among their neighbors! In August, Iqaluit Deputy Mayor Janet Brewster put out a call for school supplies for Nunavut students online – and the response was amazing! Inspired, Inuk singer-songwriter Becky Han did the same thing the next month, this time asking for winter gear donations.
Becky focused her efforts on the Inuujaq School, her hometown school in Arctic Bay on Baffin Island.
While their students had enough school supplies, too many of them didn’t have proper boots, parkas, or snow pants. Becky asked for donations in a tweet, but she never imagined the reach – or impact – it would have!
Her call for help got so many retweets that it ended up catching the attention of Ryan Reynolds!
The Canadian-American actor reached out to Becky, who put him in touch with the school’s principal, Gregg Durrant.
After he was filled in on the students’ needs, Reynolds, a friend of Canada Goose, contacted the brand, which agreed to send the school 300 parkas in addition to snow pants, boots, hats, and mittens!
When everything finally arrived, 329 students were brought to the school’s gym, which was filled with donations – and smiles.
While the amount Reynolds donated directly isn’t clear, the impact his actions made is obvious.
“That’s one less thing for me to worry about with regards to being the principal and, you know, supervising these kids,” Gregg said. “I am very happy that they have comfortable and suitable gear for the climate that they’re living in.”
“When the students were leaving the gym … they were like, ‘Thank you, Gregg! Thank you, Gregg!'” the principal added. “I’m like, ‘Yes, it’s thank you, Ryan! Thank you, Ryan!'”
Look at all those happy faces! We can’t help smiling ourselves knowing all these kids will be warm and cozy this holiday season.
Share this story to thank Becky, Reynolds, and Canada Goose for stepping up in this school’s time of need.
Want to be happier in just 5 minutes a day? Sign up for Morning Smile and join over 455,000+ people who start each day with good news.
