PWRDF prospects are good in the Yukon

On any given day in the riverside town of Dawson City, Yukon, parishioners from St. Paul’s Church can be found collecting recyclables from local businesses. The group is led by Betty Davidson, the PWRDF representative for the Diocese of Yukon who has been in working with PWRDF since 2011.

For the last eight years Davidson and dedicated members of the parish have been gathering, sorting and counting recyclables and returning them to their local recycle centre for cash, which is in turn donated to PWRDF. All of the proceeds from the project go to PWRDF’s project in the remote First Nations community of Pikangikum.

Davidson has been an active member of the community for a number of years. She serves on the Diocese of Yukon Executive Community and has been a director of restorative justice in Dawson City.

She has found that businesses in Dawson City are more than happy to hand over recyclable drink bottles, plastics and metal cans for a good cause. Sourdough Joe’s, a local restaurant, provides an average of 14 dozen empties to the cause twice a week, while a local campground delivers their recyclables directly to Betty’s home.

The recyclable mining group was able to get a helping hand from Bishop Larry Robertson and PWRDF Board member, Valerie Maier, who were in Dawson City in 2016 for a Vacation Bible School. Valerie and Bishop Robertson were touched by the group’s desire to make our world a more just, healthy and peaceful place for all.