A pair of Chesterfield Inlet Elders were showered with cards and gifts for their 84th and 80th birthdays.
Eva Tanuyak, whose 84th birthday was March 15, and Rosalie Sammurtok, whose 80th birthday was March 2, received dozens of cards and gifts from the Elder’s Arctic Birthday Club.
The club was started by Northern Canada Mini Projects, a Facebook group of generous southerners with a keen interest in northerners, spearheaded by Cindy Dhillon.
Members frequently identify charitable causes through community connections and fundraise or mail out packages to Nunavut and the Northwest Territories.
The intention of the birthday club is to send as many cards to each Elder as their age in years, plus a few more, along with pieces of fabric from all over southern Canada, explained Dhillon. They are also sent a box that includes birthday supplies, such as cake mix, frosting, balloons, candles and more.
In a time of potential world wars and pandemics, what’s better to lighten the mood than an Elder in a tiara, said Dhillon.
