(Photo: Pictured left to right: Caitlin Iqaluq, Sarah Mina Cookie, Sarah Kowcharlie)

(Photo: Young female athletes of Sanikiluaq show off their brand new hockey jerseys.)

Sanikiluaq, NU is one of many communities that have teamed up with The North West Company to take part in Greener Tomorrow, and community members have collectively achieved astonishing results.

A $5,867 Greener Tomorrow grant was recently presented to Sanikiluaq’s the Jumpstart Sanikiluaq Girls Hockey League.

“The donation we made has been put to great use,” said local Northern store manager Janet Robinson. The grant helped the team to purchase not only new jerseys, but also matching socks and hockey toques.

“The girls really want their own identity and to separate themselves from the boys program,” Robinson explained.

“These funds will have a huge impact on the community by helping us continue to provide a safe and fun environment for girls to be active, learn teamwork and cooperative/collaborative skills, build self-confidence and camaraderie with their peers and find leadership opportunities within a team and community setting,” said teacher and coach Michael Small.

Northern/NorthMart runs the Greener Tomorrow program with the aim to eliminate the use of plastic grocery bags. To encourage the use of environmentally friendly alternatives, customers are charged a fee each time a non-reusable plastic bag is used. Unique to the industry, the program fees are accumulated over the year, with 100 percent of the funds returning to the community to support environmental and social programs.