Giving Poverty a Run for Its Money

Written by Shawn Ruest on 03/06/11

Photo by Chuck Dickson on Flickr

When someone says ‘poverty’, we think of it as a problem that only other nations have. But the truth is that we are running away from poverty in our own country. Did you know Statistics Canada reported that over 600,000 Canadian youth 17 years old and under live in poverty? Also, children living in poverty are at a greater risk of growing up in an environment of abuse and neglect. I don’t know about you, but those facts are pretty unsettling to me, considering that Canada is supposed to be the 8^th best nation in the world to live in.

There’s Hope…

Not even a decade ago, 850,000 children were living in poverty (Statistics Canada). Luckily, over the past decade, the amount of children affected by poverty has declined. But even one child living in poverty is one too many, so let’s keep running with that improvement and drop the numbers further! Not sure how to help? Here’s something we can all do to run poverty right out of our country!

One Nation Run

The One Nation Run (ONR) is a relay across Canada organized by Bryce Dymond, Zaya Kuyena and Brittany Dickson. The relay was just an idea two years ago, but the ONR team is now ready to go! They will be running for 145 days, (from May 1^st to September 29^th), starting in Arnold’s Cove, Newfoundland and finishing up in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The team isn’t asking for a lot! The ONR hopes to raise money to help the children who face poverty (their goal is that every Canadian donates a Toonie), raise awareness about child poverty and finally, to make a plea to Canadians to become actively involved in the fight against child poverty in Canada.  The team is also inviting you to run along with them! You just need to let them know where and for how long you can run with them. Their contact information is on the ONR website.

Here’s a chance for us to stand together against child poverty. All of Canada will have a chance to truly live up to its reputation of being one of the best nations in the world through the One Nation Run.

Links

Income of Canadians
Social and Physical Influences on Health – 2008
UN – International Human Development Indicators 2011
Statistics Canada – 2006 Census
One Nation Run

3 Reader Comments:

1. 

   NickJune 3rd

   Quel sujet important… je parie qu’un nombre considérable de Canadien(ne)s n’ont aucune idée de l’ampleur de la pauvreté au Canada… bon article!

2. 

   Ben RoebuckJune 3rd

   Awesome. Thanks for writing about this important initiative Shawn. We can tackle child poverty in Canada, but we need people with vision, and it will take a collective effort!

3. 

   Shawn RuestJune 10th

   Hey guys, It’s Shawn Ruest! I just participated in the first Ottawa relay last night for the One Nation Run! My legs are very sore at the office today but it’s totally worth the effort and I recommend you get out there as well! Cheers!

   Salut à tous, c’est Shawn Ruest! Hier soir, j’ai participé à la première course à relais de One Nation Run à Ottawa! Disons simplement que je ne sens plus mes jambes ce matin, mais ça vallait la peine et je te conseil d’y participer aussi! Au plaisir!