Love Outside The Lines
There are so many ways to show love (all year, and surpassing the boundaries of romantic love). For us at Poko, one of our favorite ways is to give back, educate and inspire others to do the same.
We’ve designed the limited edition Have a Heart towel and sought partnership with the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society to raise funds for them throughout this year’s Have a Heart Day campaign and beyond.
The Have A Heart Towel is a featured item in our Valentine's Day Gift Guide. Match with your bestie and all the loves in your life with this reversible Jacquard towel, with a printed heart pattern in colors Shell & cream.
The First Nations Child & Family Caring Society provides ways for Canadians to participate in consistent reconciliation and acknowledgement of the complete and true story between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada.
They treat all people with equal dignity and respect, look after its people so that no one is left behind, ensure they can access basic goods and services, and look forward to the future in which every child has the same or better opportunities than they currently have.
Have a Heart Day is a child and youth-led reconciliation event that brings together caring Canadians to help ensure First Nations children have the opportunity to grow up safely at home, get a good education, be healthy, and be proud of who they are.
The Give Back
For each towel sold, we will be donating proceeds to the Caring Society in honor of Have a Heart Day, perpetuated throughout each year.
Ok, so what else? To begin or continue your own journey of truth and reconciliation, here are 3 topics you can start with today:
Jordan’s Principle is a legal rule named in memory of Jordan River Anderson, a First Nations child from Norway House Cree Nation in Manitoba. Born with complex medical needs, Jordan spent more than two years unnecessarily in hospital, waiting to leave, while the Province of Manitoba and the federal government argued over who should pay for his at-home care - care that would have been paid for immediately had Jordan not been First Nations. Jordan died in the hospital at the age of five years old, never having spent a day in a family home.
With the support of their community of Norway House Cree Nation and others, Jordan’s family gifted his name to the creation of child-first principle to ensure First Nations children could access the services they need without denial, delay, or disruption.
I am a witness: Human Rights Case
On January 26, 2016, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal found that Canada discriminates against First Nations children in its provision of the First Nations Child and Family Services Program and by failing to implement Jordan's Principle.
The I am a Witness campaign invites people to learn about the case on First Nations child welfare and Jordan's Principle and to decide for themselves whether or not they think there is discrimination against First Nations children and youth.
The Touchstones of Hope reconciliation movement encourages grassroots approaches to caring for Indigenous children (Reconciliation in Child Welfare), respectful collaboration and work with Indigenous peoples (Reconciliation in Canada) and young people participating in reconciliation initiatives (Children and Youth + Reconciliation). The movement allows for respectful and meaningful relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples to occur.
We thank the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society for agreeing to let us use the name Have a Heart in honor of their Have a Heart campaign, and for providing so many wonderful resources, which we used as a source to write this blog post.
We also acknowledge that both our Pokoloko warehouse and brick-and-mortar shop in Westboro are built on the unceded territory of the Algonquin peoples.
For more information and ways to contribute, visit the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society website.
Love this! The Caring Society does such important work. <3
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