I Love First Peoples is donating over 1,300 friendship boxes to Family and Children Services (FCS) organizations across eastern Ontario. President of I Love First Peoples, Josée Lusignan, says normally around this time of year they fly out to remote first nation communities to donate these friendship boxes, but with the COVID-19 pandemic that’s not possible. Lusignan says they started making deliveries to local FCS organizations last week.
The President of I Love First Peoples says the friendship boxes are shoe boxes that are filled with things that make kids happy. Lusignan says they’ve received art boxes, reading boxes, gardening boxes and science boxes that are being distributed to families in need.
The Friendship Boxes were inspected and packaged back in December, prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. Lusignan says you can visit the I Love First Peoples website to purchase a friendship box instead of donating them in person.
Donations from I Love First Peoples will be made to the following organizations:
- Family and Children’s Services of Lanark, Leeds and Grenville (Brockville)
- Family and Children’s Services of Renfrew County (Pembroke)
- Pikwakanagan First Nation Community
- Children’s Aid Society of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry (Cornwall)
- Odawa Native Friendship Centre (Ottawa)
- Inuuqatigiit Centre for Inuit Children, Youth and Families (Ottawa)
- Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa
- Algonquin Reserve of Lac-Simon
