Frozen fingers to warm and wiggly digits

Little frozen fingers were made warm and wiggly with a donation of mittens and hats by Northern Savings Credit Union (N.S.C.U.) to the students in School District 52.

During the recent cold snap in January, when temperatures in Prince Rupert plunged to the coldest they had been in over 110 years, hats and mittens for school children were a necessity. Some schools in the area let out an S.O.S for items to assist students who did not have any winter weather gear. Northern Savings Credit Union in P.R. showed up to be the beacon of generosity as staff braved the cold themselves to provide the students items to protect hands and heads from the inclement elements.

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Upon receiving an email request from one of the elementary schools in town, Michelle Boomers-Mac Neill, Branch Manager of N.S.C.U. put the idea to the staff of engaging with the collection of hats and mittens for local school children.

“We decided as a group we wanted to participate. It was a fun but busy day, ” Boomers-Mac Neill said. “We had some staff go shopping for the items, the marketing team supplied bags, a bunch of employees packed the bags, and the some staff delivered the bags to the schools. It was a team effort all around.”

The Prince Rupert N.S.C.U branch spearheaded the effort to supply, not just one school, but all elementary schools in S.D. 52 with the with the warm woollies. The effort soon ballooned to become bigger than the branch with other credit unions in Terrace and Haida Gwaii also donating winter gear to some of their local schools.

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Students at Lax Kxeen Elementary school told Northern View staff that with the generous donation they were kept warm enough to be able to go out side and enjoy making snowmen for the first time.

“We are thankful to receive the bags with tuques and mittens. It came in very handy during the recent cold snap that Prince Rupert had,” said Jean Marogna, kindergarten teacher at Lax Kxeen Elementary said. “Kids were grateful to have things to keep them warm.”