Team Canadian North hits $10,000 target at nationals
Campaign success inspires national Squash Hunger discussion

Team Canadian North players had more than 10,000 reasons to cheer at the Canadian Squash Championships in Calgary on May 5, as the first-ever Squash Hunger campaign successfully reached its $10,000 fundraising goal, and one of the North’s top players battled for a national title. Jessica Patterson, customer service trainer for Canadian North, who picked up her first racquet in 2001, narrowly missed capturing her first national Women’s “A” title. “I lost a tough match, but it was still a great way to finish the tournament,” says Patterson, who was a Team Canadian North co-captain and one of this year’s top fundraisers. “The entire team played hard and I was really proud of how we represented the North in Calgary.”

Following a month of fitness training and fundraising, Team Canadian North players combined to win 476 points at the Championships, more than enough to reach this year’s $10,000 fundraising target. With every point won at the nationals, a donation is being made to Food First Foundation, the NWT and Nunavut arm of Breakfast for Learning, a national non-profit organization that raises funds to support healthy breakfast, lunch and snack programs in schools across Canada.

“We couldn’t ask for a better finish to this year’s campaign,” says team Co- Captain James Pugsley, who is in discussions with Squash Canada about the possibility of expanding the Squash Hunger effort in 2008.

Currently Food First Foundation Grants are helping fund 20 healthy breakfast, lunch or snack programs across the NWT, providing food for over 1,500 students on a daily basis. In Nunavut, Food First financially supports eight school programs daily providing healthy breakfasts for nearly 1,600 students. It costs on average just $2 to feed a student a nutritious meal through a school program in the NWT, and just $3 in Nunavut.

Team Canadian North is proudly sponsored by Canadian North, Nunasi Corporation, Coast Plaza Hotel and Conference Centre in Calgary and the Black Knight Pub.