THUNDER BAY – Help for Attawapiskat is continuing to flow. The latest help is coming from the Baadwating Community Association. “This is about coming together to help our people,” said Gary Edgar, Baagwating’s Chair. “We were told that the community needed certain supplies, including water purification systems and thermal clothing, so that is what we are going to provide.” With a $100,000 donation from the Baagwating Community Association, the charitable arm of the Great Blue Heron Charity Casino, the Ontario Volunteer Emergency Response Team (OVERT) will arrive in Attawapiskat on Thursday, January 5th, 2012, to provide equipment, supplies and assistance to the struggling community.
Based out of Oshawa, Ontario, OVERT is a charitable volunteer organization equipped to quickly provide personnel, equipment and resources to relief efforts around the world and to help overwhelmed emergency services. “OVERT has the ability to bring aid to people and communities in almost any type of environment or condition,” says Glen Turpin, OVERT’s Executive Coordinator. “The Baagwating Community Association is sending us to help the people of Attawapiskat, so that they can start the New Year with the supplies they need and good drinking water.”
In a media statement, the group says, “The severe housing shortage, affecting 1,800 Ontarians in Attawapiskat, has forced families to live in makeshift tents and unheated trailers, some without access to clean or running water and electricity”.
The Great Blue Heron Charity Casino near Port Perry, Ontario, provides the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation with a sense of pride and a means to promote economic development. It is also a significant economic contributor to the Durham Region and Scugog Township. Further, the casino supports many individuals and organizations that rely upon the Baagwating Community Association, the charitable arm of the casino, for financial assistance, growth and sustainability.