New book plan announced by new Bear Clan Coordinator

The Portage la Prairie Bear Clan has a new Coordinator for the winter.

Jane Tully has been volunteering with the group since the very beginning, and wanted to keep things going for the winter months.

Tully says they continue to pick-up needles, deliver care packages, and patrol Portage, to continue to connect with their community. Another program they've started, began when outgoing coordinator Manon Timshel reached out to the Portage Regional Library and got connected with Indigenous authors and artists.

"We have received over $3,000 worth of beautiful books for young people, ranging all the way from the little hardback books for small children, right through to youth books," says Tully. "The library, the authors, and a group of artists invested a lot of time into bringing that into place. We just received them a week ago. A great thank-you to the library for that project. The books are absolutely beautiful."

She says it's work they enjoy doing and they look forward to getting the next generation involved. Plus, we can learn from theml!

"We're hoping, as a group of volunteers, to go to the different schools, and possibly, if we can have some Indigenous culture support, we would like to have some sharing circles and have some of the books read to the younger groups in the schools," says Tully. "It would be also an opportunity for them to teach us some of their cultural beliefs and share their stories with us."

Tully says they will soon be updating their website and social media, and if you would like to get involved with the Bear Clan, they'd love to hear from you. You can find their current Facebook page here.