Resolute mayor thanks those who supported youth project

Dear editor, my name is Ross Pudluk, mayor of Resolute Bay.

I ran for mayor mostly to help our youth, who are usually neglected after school is closed for the summer.

With the wonderful help of our hamlet youth committee, I got together with our tireless social worker Joyce Laprise. Last April, Joyce and I came up with a plan to send four facilitators up to Resolute from Vancouver and to send six youth to Vancouver through the Innervation North Program, staring July 8 until mid-August.

We came up with a budget to raise over $195,780. Please bear in mind we live in the most expensive place in Canada.

So far we have raised over $121,400 with the help of generous contributors from various organizations. I would now like to thank all the wonderful contributors with the fullest measure of my heart.

• QIA president PJ Akeeagok: $29,000;

• ATCO Structure and Logistics, Philip Chubbs: $5,000;

• Tower Arctic, John and Peter Jacobsen: $5,000;

• Nunavut Employees Union, $5,000;

• Hamlet Community Cluster Fund: $2,2000; and

• Outfitter Canada, $1,000.

Other contributors in kind and value:

• Merrit Lodge for accommodations: $2,550;

• Tudjaat Co-op: $2,000;

• Aziz Kheraj and Aleesak Idlout for air passage on his charter from Resolute to Yellowknife: $5,4000;

• Polar Continental Shelf, Micheal Jordan: $2,466;

• First Air: 50 per cent discount on airfares;

• Lululemon Canada Athletics: $3,000; and

Joyce Laprise for lodging: $2800.00.

Thank you all, a job well done!

Since I got elected mayor, I have been attending all our youth committee meetings to show them that it can be done and to set an example to our youth that with a lot of hard work and soliciting you can accomplish anything if you put your mind to it.

After this is all done I will give all the responsibility to our recreation coordinator and youth committee and hopefully make it an annual event. Again my fullest thank-you to all involved.

I am also trying to set an example to other mayors in Nunavut that you have to be proactive in all functions concerning our communities and especially our youth, and be the real leader that you were elected to be. After all, we are the front-line workers for our community as elected officials.

The territorial and the federal governments can only do so much to help us and usually have short term solutions. We the mayors and councillors are the ones that have to come up with the long term solutions for our troubled youth. Once again thank you all.

Ross Pudluk
Mayor of Resolute Bay

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