The Inuvialuit Regional Corporation’s Nanilavut Initiative has received an $11,000 donation from the Jays Care Foundation.
The donation will have a “a significant and positive impact,” according to Beverly Lennie, project manager with the Nanilavut Initiative.
“It’s encouraging to see organizations like Jays Care Foundation taking meaningful steps to acknowledge and support such important initiatives related to truth and reconciliation and providing assistance to survivors of residential schools and their families,” she said.
The Inuvialuit Regional Corporation (IRC) represents the collective interests of Inuvialuit in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region.
IRC created the Nanilavut Initiative to help Inuvialuit and Inuit from across Canada locate lost loved ones who did not return home after being sent south for medical care during the Tuberculosis epidemic of the mid 1900s. The name Nanilavut translates to “let’s find them” in Inuktut.
The Nanilavut Initiative also support IRC’s efforts towards truth and reconciliation by helping survivors of residential schools and their families, which is where the Jays Care Foundation donation will be applied, Lennie said.
“This donation will help further the goals of truth and reconciliation and contribute to healing and understanding within our communities,” she said. “It’s a meaningful step towards acknowledging the historical injustices faced by Indigenous people and working towards a more just and inclusive future.”
Specifically, Lennie said, the donation will support programming like IRC’s “healing camps for families and youth,” some of which are facilitated at Reindeer Station, which the organization purchased from the Inuvik Community Corporation this past March.
The Jays Care Foundation is the charity arm of the Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball team.
The organization’s official website names Indigenous children and youth as a primary focus of its efforts.
“At Jays Care we believe in ongoing collaboration and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples,” the website reads. “This means working with Indigenous communities to create inclusive programs that promote the health and well-being of children, youth and families.”