Recently, a teacher from Toronto named Marie-Josée Lefebvre reached out to us. She is the founder of @chergovernment, a letter-writing campaign giving power to children's voices in asking the government to give access to clean water to ALL First Nations children.

She was looking for a local business like ours to help spread the word and collect letters, as she is biking from Toronto to Ottawa to deliver these letters from her students (and many more!) to Parliament Hill. We gladly accepted, and know we can count on our customers to help spread the word! Victoire will be her last stop before heading to the Hill. 

Here's how to help:

1. Invite the children in your life to write a letter to the government. Start with the line "I can't imagine" or "J'peux pas m'imaginer" and end with asking the government to do the right thing, once and for all. Look to @chergovernment for letter-writing tips and examples.

2. Drop off or mail your letter to our shop address: 1282 Wellington St. West, Unit B, Ottawa, ON, K1Y 3A7. Marie-Josee will be collecting all letters received on August 25th, so please bring them or mail them before then.

3. Toronto pals, you can drop off your letters until Saturday, August 14th to Horses Atelier, Float Toronto and Sweet Pete's Bike Shop. If you own a business in Oshawa, Cobourg, Brighton, Prince Edward County, Kingston, Smiths Falls or Perth, please reach out to @chergovernment as she will be stopping by en route to Ottawa and is still looking for drop-off locations.

4. Each letter collected will be read aloud by @chergovernment and hand-presented to the government of Canada. As Marie-Josée Lefebvre says: "Youth cannot imagine living without clean water in their homes like too many kids living in First Nations communities have to. They are writing letters to their government and are making sure that their letters are read carefully."

5. Follow @chergovernment, and visit chergovernment.com for educational resources, and don't forget to share this initiative with those in your life to help the movement flow. 
August 12, 2021 — Regine Paquette