Santa in the North
As a book lover, I loved receiving books for Christmas when I was a kid. And I’m so excited that since 2018, Athabasca Basin Development (the company I work for) has been so supportive in bringing books to children in remote communities that don’t have easy access to things like bookstores or public libraries.
Each year since 2000, Santa pays a visit to far north Dene First Nation communities in Saskatchewan’s Athabasca Basin region. Traveling on a Rise Air flight instead of his sleigh, Santa and his elves visit each school and make sure the nearly 1400 children in pre-K to grade 12 from the seven Athabasca communities (Fond du Lac, Hatchet Lake, Black Lake, Wollaston Lake, Stony Rapids, Uranium City, and Camsell Portage), receive a gift bag that includes a gift, Christmas treats, and a brand new book.
Nearly all the books sent to the students in 2023 were by Indigenous authors (250+ different titles). And we are on track to continue this program in the future. It’s so great to see have so many fantastic books by Indigenous authors to choose from! Here's a list: https://athabascabasin.ca/giving-back/santa-in-the-north-book-shareable-list/
This project could not be done without the many sponsors involved. Athabasca Basin Development has been involved in the program since 2011, with the book portion of the program starting in 2018. Our other book program sponsors in 2023 were Points Athabasca, Athabasca Basin Security, Flyer Electric, Team Drilling, Points North, Long Lake Insurance, and Optek Solutions.
Rise Air administers the program and manages the logistics. It’s not easy getting Santa, his elves, 1400 books, gifts and treats up to remote communities. Numerous sponsors come onboard each year to help Santa make this trip happen. Graham Construction, Cameco, Orano, SIGA, The Saskatchewan Roughrider Foundation, Symmetry PR, and SSR Mining all contributed in 2023 to Santa’s efforts through financial and in-kind donations that helped with providing all the gift bags with assorted toys and treats for the children.
For more information, or if you or your organization would like to help out, please check out this article (https://riseair.ca/13585-2) or contact me at my work address: https://athabascabasin.ca/contact/
