In November, Concordia’s Aboriginal Student Resource Centre (ASRC) held its inaugural artisan sale. It featured a variety of handmade items crafted by Indigenous students and Montrealers.
The event was a huge success, attracting hundreds of people and raising nearly $2,500, five times what organizers expected.
Now, that money is going back to the community by way of care packages delivered to Chez Doris, The Open Door and the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal. The shelters serve members of Montreal’s Indigenous communities.
Each shelter received 50 packages, including personal hygiene products, hats, sexual health harm reduction kits, menstrual products, water bottles, bags and neck, hand and foot warmers.
Mikayla Cartwright, a mentor and student support assistant at the ASRC, says the idea for the packages came from a simple call to action by a student who was heavily involved in the urban Indigenous community.
The suggestion stuck with Cartwright, who has worked in a shelter and has an understanding of what people need on a daily basis.
“Often, we tend to take such (essential) items for granted,” says Cartwright. “So, we organized the Holiday Aboriginal Artisan Sale as a way to fundraise, knowing we have very talented artisans among our students.”