WHEN MORE PEOPLE KNOW...

This New Year began with an awesome response to the media exposure we received from the Victoria Times Colonist (local, daily newspaper), The Weather Network (national television) and CFAX 1070 Victoria (local radio) during November and December 2011. The media outlets’ compassion for the plight of Arctic Canadians helped us enlighten southerners about the appalling circumstances jeopardizing their daily life and threatening future generations.

We were overwhelmed by phone, email and Twitter enquiries - Thank-you! The vast majority of contacts were requests for more information – which gave us opportunities to further promote public awareness of Arctic needs and our mission.

We also received:

• cash and in-kind donations;

• offers of volunteer help;

• interview enquiries from another national TV broadcaster, and an independent newspaper chain;

• enquiries from groups interested in supporting our work; and,

• an expression of interest from an iconic Canadian singer to collaborate with us.

More financial donations would have been great, but the enquiries do hold great potential upon which to further build our organization and deliver meaningful help to Arctic Canadians.

On the social media front, we’re now on Twitter (@CdnArcticAid) and quickly gained nearly 200 followers. In an interesting case of “connecting the dots”: On Twitter, Canadian writer Margaret Atwood retweeted our information to her 257,000 followers, one of whom told her friend living in a hamlet in the Northwest Territories, who contacted us to learn if we might be able to help her community. They need to acquire sewing machines and e-commerce capability to enable the women to produce garments and artwork so they can become financially independent. We’ve begun discussions with a possible sewing machine supplier. We still seek an e-commerce and freight sponsor.

Thanks so much for your kind and generous donations, which came from geographically diverse people in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, Florida, Maine, Oregon and Norway.

Recently, one of our volunteers moved to Repulse Bay, NU (she got there in two days – furniture/effects got there in six weeks). Once settled in she’ll begin community liaison work in order for us to learn how we can best be of service to that hamlet.

Ultimately, we intend to develop an Arctic community liaison network comprising residents in each hamlet, to facilitate greater understanding of far-north needs, to enable us to better focus our efforts and resources. If you want to become involved in this way, please do contact us (info at top right of this blog homepage).

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If not now - when? If not us - who?

To support our work, visit these secure sites:

DONATE NOW:

http://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?CharityID=s103683

FUNDRAISING STORE:

http://www.caas.shopregal.ca/

All content © Canadian Arctic Service Corps. All rights reserved. Please share our blog. When more people know, more help can happen.

MERRY CHARITABLE CHRISTMAS

May this be the best Christmas you ever knew, one which left you overwhelmed with a sense of being the most fortunate person on Earth. May it be one that spoiled you breathless, with countless gifts of enormous magnitude and incalculable value. And, may you have lavishly given to others more magnanimously than you received. But, more importantly, may all your bounty be of the kind that inspires souls, warms hearts and brings hope.

Christmas is irrevocably associated with giving, regardless of your belief about its origin or meaning. Religious or not, this December season brings us closer to people – family, friends, and sometimes even strangers. But, very often the connection we’re inexplicably compelled to make is weakened – or goes miserably unfelt - because of a fixation on “stuff”. Succumbing to the buying frenzy that has become Christmas leaves the less wealthy feeling inadequate in their ability to demonstrate love for family, and imbues those of means with a false and unwarranted sense of meaning.

May your Christmas be rich in what really matters – feeling the loving embrace of family & friends, and finding the opportunity to personally help another living creature (human or otherwise). Perhaps more importantly, may your children learn from your example which gifts are truly priceless.

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If not now - when? If not us - who?

To support our work, visit these secure sites:

DONATE NOW:

http://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?CharityID=s103683

FUNDRAISING STORE:

http://www.caas.shopregal.ca/

All content © Canadian Arctic Service Corps. All rights reserved. Please distribute our blog far and wide. When more people know, more help can happen.

RAISING PUBLIC AWARENESS

Thank-you to Liz McArthur at CFAX 1070 radio in Victoria, BC for inviting us to talk about Arctic conditions and our mission to help.

Today we had a great 30-minute live interview. It gave a rare, public opportunity to discuss the many inter-related crises daunting Arctic Canadians as they struggle to endure yet another day with insufficient food, inadequate housing, meagre health services and limited educational resources.

To hear the entire ½ hour interview (complete with commercials), follow this link and click on the CFAX 1070 logo.

www.ewmanchester.com/arctic.html

If you cannot hear the interview, email us at the address shown at the top right margin of this page and we’ll send you the digital file.

********************************************

If not now - when? If not us - who?

To support our work, visit these secure sites:

DONATE NOW:

http://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?CharityID=s103683

FUNDRAISING STORE:

http://www.caas.shopregal.ca

All content © Canadian Arctic Service Corps. All rights reserved. Please distribute our blog far and wide. When more people know, more help can happen.

CASC IS ON THE AIR

Thank-you Natalie Thomas and The Weather Network for the invitation to be interviewed.

There are never too many opportunities to talk about Arctic living conditions, and our organization’s mission to deliver short-term aid and long-term solutions. A big challenge in garnering the support needed to bring change is raising public awareness. While there is never enough on-air time to thoroughly discuss the plight of these farthest-north Canadians, we truly appreciate this opportunity.

We believe that charity begins at home, and, when Canadians are fully informed, and then asked to help, private citizens and industry can and will rally to lend a hand to our fellow citizens.

Just one hungry child is too many – but 70% of Inuit pre-schoolers don’t get enough to eat. Please care enough to become part of the solution. It’s easy to join our Arctic Circle.

*************************************************************

If not now - when? If not us - who?

To support our work, visit these secure sites:

DONATE NOW:

http://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?CharityID=s103683

FUNDRAISING STORE:

http://www.caas.shopregal.ca

All content © Canadian Arctic Service Corps. All rights reserved. Please distribute our blog far and wide. When more people know, more help can happen.

THANK-YOU!

We want to express our sincerest gratitude for the collaboration of Best Buy, store #0983, Uptown Mall, 3501 Blanshard Street, Saanich, BC (http://www.bestbuy.ca/).

Sales Manager Jes Smith and her team went above & beyond to ensure that we acquired the best electronic equipment to enhance our audio/visual communications capability.

We profoundly appreciate every person and organization that assists our mission to relieve hunger (among other things) in remote Arctic hamlets.

*********************************

If not now - when? If not us - who?

To support our work, visit these secure sites:

DONATE NOW:

http://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?CharityID=s103683

FUNDRAISING STORE:

http://www.caas.shopregal.ca/

All content © Canadian Arctic Service Corps. All rights reserved. Please distribute our blog far and wide. When more people know, more help can happen.

ONE SMALL MISSION ACCOMPLISHED (REALLY)

Thanks to everyone who voted!

Today, Kraft Foods announced that the Iqaluit food bank won the prize of $1,000 for receiving the most votes in the weekly ballot.

When the contest began, we widely forwarded the request to vote, posted it on our Blog, and also sent it out on Twitter – requesting everyone to re-send it to their followers – while Iqaluit ran its own local campaign to get out the vote. When the counting was done, Iqaluit beat out southern towns with much greater populations – including Vancouver and Victoria, BC. Here’s the link to the list of food banks Iqaluit was up against.

http://kraftassists.ca/prod/?lang=en#fbank

We’re glad to have been part of the process, and thrilled with the outcome.

The challenge to nourish 50,000 Inuit continues...

*************************************************************

If not now - when? If not us - who?

To support our work, visit these secure sites:

DONATE NOW:

http://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?CharityID=s103683

FUNDRAISING STORE:

http://www.caas.shopregal.ca

All content © Canadian Arctic Service Corps. All rights reserved. Please distribute our blog far and wide. When more people know, more help can happen.

COMING SOON!

We are very pleased and appreciative that the brilliant minds at The Dubs & Dash Group of Guelph, Ontario partnered with us to develop our new website (coming soon), online presence and other strategies (http://www.d2-group.com/).

Here’s what D2G has to say about us…

"The core of D2G [The Dubs & Dash Group] is built around the Social Conscious mindset: part of which involves helping businesses think like charities, and charities think like businesses," explained D2G's creative partner, Bill Dubs. "And, the Canadian Arctic Service Corps [CASC] thinks more like a business than any charity we've ever encountered. CASC is not looking to give handouts to the people of our North; immediate aid when needed, yes, but CASC is also working to develop plans for long-term sustainability and self-sufficiency that gives them back control of their own futures. How could we not want to be part of a mission like that?"

If you would also like to become part of our Arctic Circle effort to aid our fellow Canadians, it is easy to do so. See our contact information and donation links shown along the upper right margin of this site.

******************************************************

If not now - when? If not us - who?

To support our work, visit these secure sites:

DONATE NOW:

http://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?CharityID=s103683

FUNDRAISING STORE:

http://www.caas.shopregal.ca/

All content © Canadian Arctic Service Corps. All rights reserved. Please distribute our blog far and wide. When more people know, more help can happen.