THUNDER BAY — Nokiiwin Tribal council was one of several recipients of refurbished laptops to help ensure that people in need can access services.
Audrey Gilbeau, executive director and governance advisor with Nokiiwin Tribal Council, said the recent donation of refurbished laptops will be used by students in their education programs.
“Our education programs out of our building currently work with a lot of marginalized populations. So there's a very welcome environment, but you're also looking at working with individuals that really don't have access.
"Access would be the key area of focus with us, access to the equipment, access to the space, access to support, access to Wi Fi and so on,” she said.
“Having equipment that's really functioning is one thing, having the equipment that's going to be able to potentially help to elevate someone's opportunities as they start to look to engage within not only education but to employment as well.”
Corporations for Community Connections, a registered charity, created the initiative and refurbished the donated laptops. Phillip Schaus, president and CEO, said they relied on locals to help determine where the laptops were needed the most.
“[Nokiiwin was] one of many perfect choices,” he said. “We, again, didn't rely on ourselves to make that choice. In this case, we engaged an organization called Honouring Indigenous People represented in Thunder Bay by Brian Walmark. And Brian then chose the recipients based upon his knowledge of the organizations and what their needs were.”
The laptops come from Siemens Energy Canada. Arne Wohlschlegel, managing director, said he feels it’s important for corporations to give back.
“This week was an exceptionally interesting learning experience for me because we met with organizations that benefit from receiving these laptops and seeing what can be done. What can be changed here is really inspiring. So, my goal is to take this message back to our employees that worked and volunteered at that time,” he said.
“And I feel it's also a really good role model for other corporations because we are just one company and other companies could do the same. It's exciting, it's encouraging.”
