IGLOOLIK, NUNAVUT
Rob and I had an unbelievable time in Igloolik, Nunavut. We lived in the small Inuit community of 1600 and taught diabetes-related education at the high school. It was a wonderful learning experience for us, and hopefully the youth and community members we worked with too! Our eyes were opened to the realities of living in the High Arctic – the abrasive clash between tradition and modernity was as apparent as two colliding ice floes out in the bay, as was the issue of food security and availability. We were faced with the challenge of learning the nutritional value of ‘Country Foods’ (seal, caribou, walrus, beluga, char, polar bear) which still make up a good portion of many people’s diets in the community, and trying to wrap our heads around how we would abide by Nunavut’s food guide and teach people to eat more fruits and veggies when a head of romaine lettuce cost $6.54 and a pineapple $15! Read more . . .
R&B CHARITY GALA
On December 18th 2009, a few of us headed to Forest, ON to attend the 4th Annual R&B Charity Gala (R standing for Rumford, B for Burch – the guys who run the show). It was a great night! The gala, complete with HUGE silent auction and more food than I have ever seen, had hundreds of people out on the dance floor all night long. The event raised over $11 500 dollars for Make-A Wish andConnected in Motion. The incredible turn out in this small community proves that when we come together as a community and get ‘in motion’ we can make great things happen. Thanks Brennan and Cam for all of your hard work and for choosing CIM.
And then of course there were the holidays…
And with that…2009 drew to an end.
It is pretty incredible to think of how far we have come in just 1 short year.
Thank you SO MUCH to everyone for all of your ideas, support, passion and committment to making CIM the best it can be. Thanks for coming out to events – for running, cycling, climbing and sharing your knowledge – for wearing our shirts and headbands – for telling your ‘betes friends about us – and of course for continuing to inspire me. I am excited for 2010!
