Kahnawake fundraiser raises money to educate Indigenous health-care students
It’s been eight years since Iohahiio Delisle and Carla Skye lost their child, Karonhiaráhstha, to SIDS.
Ever since, they’ve held an annual Winter Wonderland fundraiser in her memory in Kahnawake, the Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) community south of Montreal.
The money they raise goes to a scholarship that funds young Indigenous health-care students.
Delisle says Indigenous people don’t have the same access to healthcare, but that this event can help address that.
“If we’re going to combat systemic (racism), then we can also do it by encouraging those positions be filled with professional Indigenous health-care workers,” said Delisle. Still, he says “It’s like opening a wound every year.”
At their last Winter Wonderland, which was held before the pandemic, they raised roughly $80 thousand.
This year, they’re hoping to raise even more.
The fundraiser works by stuffing donated gifts under trees. The gifts come from a wide range of places, including businesses, and other families – all in memory of Karonhiaráhstha.
So far, the family has helped 72 doctors, nurses, and health-care workers go to school.
“I guess the whole community grieves with us,” said Skye, “It’s a happy time, but it’s also a sad time.”
“Those funds are going to be used in a positive way for Kahnawake,” said Winter Wonderland volunteer Dale Jacobs. Which is going to affect “the next generation, and the next,” he said, “because we’re always looking towards the future. “
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
An Ontario senior thought he called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.