Some people visit CNIB Lake Joe for a day or a week and find their connection to camp lasts long after they leave.
That was the case for Salima Kassam. A Canadian Tire employee of nearly 15 years, Salima first discovered CNIB Lake Joe through the company’s corporate volunteering program, which gives employees opportunities and time to volunteer with organizations in their communities.
She jumped at the chance to get involved, volunteering at CNIB Lake Joe’s annual spring work weekend and the Cookout with Cuddy fundraiser in 2025.
Volunteering at Lake Joe brought Salima closer to the community and prompted her to think about other ways she could help contribute to the camper experience.
Drawing on her connections across Canadian Tire’s various divisions, Salima organized a donation of sports equipment to CNIB Lake Joe. After receiving a wish list from camp, she worked with colleagues, vendors and partners to source the equipment and arrange its delivery.
For Salima, the real reward was seeing how something that felt relatively simple for her to organize could help transform the camper experience. When the boxes of donated sports equipment arrived at CNIB Lake Joe, one staff member described opening them as “like Christmas.”
The gifts also form part of a broader relationship with Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities. Jumpstart’s support for Camp Abilities Hockey Week helps create opportunities for young people with sight loss to take part in the excitement, teamwork and skill-building of hockey. Donations of sports equipment, arts and crafts supplies, and other materials help enrich activities across camp.
