Local individuals get involved in cleaning up Meadow Lake after the Spring Thaw.(Submitted photo/ Eatery on Main)

By Nicole Reis

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Local businesses recognized for uplifting community during pandemic

Jul 13, 2020 | 5:53 PM

COVID-19 has prompted some extraordinary stories from all over the province and two local individuals have been recognized. They’re being acknowledged through the Conexus Credit Union Kindness Capital Fund for their outstanding initiative toward their communities during the pandemic.

The fund acknowledges 40 Saskatchewan businesses with $5,000 to continue their acts of kindness in their communities. Masked Makers organizer Angela Bishop of Green Lake, and Kassidy Dunsing, owner of Eatery on Main in Meadow Lake, have been nominated anonymously by members of the public.

Eric Dillon, CEO of Conexus Credit Union told meadowlakeNOW the goal of the fund was to find organizations that had taken a difficult pandemic situation and turned it into a positive to serve the people around them and their community.

“Part of the challenge – maybe we all faced through this [pandemic] – is that maybe it was a difficult time for lots of people and COVID-19 has caused quite a bit of stress and anxiety for lots of families and businesses” Dillon said. ”We thought it was appropriate to find these really great stories where people had either pivoted their businesses or gone out of their way to try to make a difference.”

Dillon explained the money that funds the program was part of the federal government dollars distributed to all financial institutions. As a credit union, Conexus wanted to serve the community by allocating government programming back to the public.

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(Submitted photo/ Angela Bishop)

Masked matters

Angela Bishop, organizer of Masked Makers was nominated by an employee of Conexus without her knowledge according to a spokesperson at the credit union . Bishop told meadowlakeNOW she is very proud of her group’s commitment to helping others. Her masks have received recognition from a number of provincial Indigenous organizations but also from the Senate of Canada.

“We’ve sent over masks to Minister Carolyn Bennett, Minister Marc Miller, and the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan who are wearing our face masks,” she said. “When we see leaders wearing face masks, it sets the tone for the rest of the community where it’s perfectly alright to wear a mask and protect others.”

The contribution will allow Masked Makers to continue acquiring more polypropylene and materials to continue making masks for the community. The group is not-for-profit and ensures individuals are protected from the virus’ spread. Bishop said with the donation, she is able to make 1,500 additional masks. To date, Masked Makers has made over 7,000 of the face coverings for public use.

Meanwhile, Eatery on Main has been awarded $5,000 for their community clean-up project which began in the early stages of pandemic closures. Brittani Duxbury nominated them for their spring clean-up initiative as well as their participation in local food drives. The popular local restaurant has inspired many throughout the pandemic through its willingness to go above and beyond for Meadow Lake.

“They took extraordinary measures to make sure the city was getting cleaned up [during the spring thaw] and I believe it’s the biggest clean-up we have seen,” she said. “They were willing to offer free drinks to do something nice for their community.”

Restaurant makes a difference

Duxbury nominated the popular local restaurant without their knowledge until recently. She said she’s glad to have inspirational individuals within the community to make sure people are active and inspired to improve their everyday lives. She said she learned about the fund online and immediately thought of Eatery’s efforts toward the community.

Child participating in Eatery on Main’s garbage-grab contest. (Submitted photo/ Eatery on Main)

Kassidy Dunsing, owner of Eatery on Main said she was pleasantly surprised by the acknowledgement. Dunsing says she was compelled to gather the community to do their part after she saw some local residents picking up garbage. She took her idea to social media where if individuals posted an image of themselves participating in the community clean-up, her restaurant would award the individual with a free drink.

“Then it went viral,” she said. ”I reached out to some other local businesses and asked if they were interested in a grand prize for the weekend through another contest and within 24 hours I had almost $800 in prizes donated from other local businesses. We were blown away by how many people had actually participated in this.”

Dunsing said she is considering giving her prize back to the community once pandemic restrictions ease. In the meantime, she says she’s keeping her eyes peeled for other extraordinary individuals in the community, so she can pay it forward.

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nicole.reis@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @nicolereis7722