Moved by people: fundraising for the Eabametoong First Nation School devasted by fire

Making a difference in our communities, one project at a time, is foundational to who we are as an organization, and we are especially proud to support employee driven initiatives. One recent example started when Micheline Gervais, Project Director, Hygiene, Health & Safety with our Sudbury, Ontario team, learned about the devastating fire in the Eabametoong (Fort Hope) First Nation community. 

Thankfully no one was hurt in this incident, but the fire led to the devastating loss of the community school, John C Yesno Education Centre, losing sports equipment, arts and supplies, schoolbooks, land-based materials, cultural resources, and even the community drum. 

Touched deeply by the story, Micheline was inspired to act and reached out to contacts in her Sudbury office and Thunder Bay, Ontario, to brainstorm ways to help.

Her first instinct was to connect with Ed Collins, Manager of Indigenous Relations for Englobe, and begin working together to figure out how they could make the greatest impact. “I knew I could count on Ed for support, and that he would likely already have some important contacts with Matawa Education that was supporting the community during this difficult time,” explains Micheline. 

The two, along with other team contacts, were committed to helping and started planning.

Securing Essential School Supplies for the Children of Fort Hope 

As a first step, Micheline contacted the Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services that was assuming ownership of a school purchased from the Rainbow District School Board. The school, which was closed and set to be given a second life by the housing association, had school supplies and gym equipment that Micheline was able to secure for the Eabametoong community. 

Working together with the established Achieving the Dream Through Education registered charity and Matawa Education, the team was able to identify a host of items that would greatly benefit the community including books stationary, pens, paper, sporting equipment like small balls and brand-new skipping ropes, arts and crafts stuff, counting aids, and building blocks.

Grilling for Good: fundraising BBQ for the Eabametoong First Nation community's building loss fund 

Going above and beyond securing the school supplies for the community, the team wanted to fundraise and settled on a BBQ and bake sale with all proceeds going towards the community’s building loss fund. The Englobe Sudbury group hosted their BBQ on June 7th and the Thunder Bay team held theirs the following week on June 13th and together raised $4700. 

For both events, we were truly blown away by the outpour of support from clients and the community for the fundraising efforts.

And Ed was not one to shy away from putting in the work necessary to make the BBQ events a success. From setting up, to cooking hamburgers, to helping to serve customers, he was front and center welcoming everyone who came to support the BBQ, taking extra care to ensure they had a good experience.

Every penny of the $4,700 raised will go to the Eabametoong (Fort Hope) First Nation School Loss fund.

We are incredibly proud of our team for organizing this great initiative, and for the support we were able to give to the community. By working together, we were able to help create a positive future for generations to come. 

If you are inspired by the story and want to support the school loss fundraiser, you can donate here! Every little bit helps.

Proudly recognizing National Indigenous Peoples Day and National Indigenous History Month. Today, we reinforce our commitment to supporting reconciliation and building mutually beneficial partnerships. 

To learn more about National Indigenous History Month in Canada, visit National Indigenous History Month website.