Editor’s Note

In honour of International Women’s Day, a $2,000 donation was made to the Loretta Saunders Community Scholarship Fund. Loretta Saunders was an Inuk woman attending Saint Mary’s University in Halifax and just months away from graduating she was murdered. Loretta was a passionate advocate for an end to violence against Indigenous women and girls and an outspoken advocate for a just reconciliation between Indigenous peoples and settlers. This fund is available to Indigenous women from Mi’kma’ki, Nunatsiavut or Atlantic Canada.

Welcome to the spring edition of Connections!

As the weather changes,we hope the stories in the following pages warm your heart. This is a special issue dedicated to our team members, who we call GreatPeople. In fact, the whole month of May is a celebration called Great People Month.

In this issue you’ll read about communities across Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The stories showcase resiliency during severe weather, lifelong creativity, and community spirit.

We also feature the impressive lives of centenarians, our ongoing commitment to environmental stewardship, and a celebration to recognize a special group of volunteers for their years of support.

Like the title of this publication suggests, our goal is to establish connections with each of our communities and I think we’ve done just that. We love compiling all of these stories for each issue and we hope they bring you the same joy. Have a wonderful spring and remember to enjoy all the special moments with family, friends and loved ones.

EDITOR: KATHERINE VANBUSKIRK