The Christmas holidays are going to be more cheery for residents of Kinngait due to an avalanche of donations from the RCMP.
The Mounties chose Kinngait as the recipient of the annual Adopt a Village campaign, which involves multiple plane loads of goods flown in from Ottawa, the first of which arrived earlier this month.
Among the items shipped included video game consoles and other toys; clothing for men, women and children, including socks and slippers; hygiene items like soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste; dry food; diapers and baby wipes; sewing material; hockey sticks and other hockey equipment; and other miscellaneous items.
“It’s very good news,” said Timoon Toonoo, Kinngait’s mayor, who added that he was very thankful for the contributions from the police officers.
The items are being distributed this week and the goal is for each resident to receive at least one donation.
Although the initiative is driven by officers in the nation’s capital, V Division Chief Supt. Amanda Jones was influential in choosing Kinngait as the community to benefit from this year’s RCMP Adopt a Village campaign, according to spokesperson Const. Pauline Melanson.
In 2020, the Northwest Territories hamlet of Fort MacPherson was selected as the recipient of 1,800 kg worth of charity in the inaugural year of the program.
“They have not tallied up this year’s (weight) yet but from what I was told, the donations are still coming in even after the cut-off date. They have already sent a load up and are preparing another load now,” Melanson stated.