Kimmirut Hockey Camp's eager hockey players 2018 (Kimmirut Hockey Camp Facebook)
A group of Sussex volunteers left for Kimmirut, Nunavut, on Feb. 29 to put on the fifth annual Kimmirut Hockey Camp and third annual music camp for the children of the 500-resident community during March Break.
Through hockey and music, the volunteers connect with children ages kindergarten to Grade 12 in the community. The Kimmirut Hockey Camp team, who plan and deliver the camp, has grown to a dozen individuals, with varied backgrounds in education, health, finance, marketing and youth advocacy, coaching, and team sports.
The week-long hockey camp began in 2015, and the music camp in 2018, and is planned by the principals and teachers of Quaqqalik School and the Kimmirut and Sussex community leaders. Not only do they provide further opportunities for the youth of Kimmirut, but the camps also strive to impact long term outcomes such as teen pregnancy, reduction of teen suicides, crime and drug use and high school graduations.
Kimmirut Hockey Camp 2019 (Kimmirut Hockey Camp Facebook)
Robert Matthews, Sussex Regional High School’s music teacher, is the chair and leader of the Kimmirut Hockey Camp team. He had worked in Kimmirut as a teacher in 2013 and his relationships with the students, parents, elders and leaders were crucial to building trust between the two communities.
The hockey camp, which promotes leadership skills, teamwork and improved school attendance, is funded entirely by donors and contributors and provides Kimmirut’s youth with a structured week of skills-based empowerment through Canada’s beloved national pastime.
Sussex’s hockey and music camp volunteers are dedicated to returning to Kimmirut every year and are pursuing new future program development and goals.
