Pictured above is Cambridge Bay's proud 8-year old Alicia Omilgoetok with her first Feurguson Lake char catch. She was one of the contest winners from Nunavut, and received her Northern gift card from Northern Store Manager, Doug Blackburn.

After a successful three months, the Nunavut News’ and NNSL Media’s Whatcha doin’ to #PlankTheCurve campaign has come to an end, with people across Nunavut and the Northwest Territories (NWT) joining in the fun.

The campaign was hosted by each of the news outlets to raise awareness about COVID-19 and flattening the pandemic curve. People were asked to post photos showing what they were doing to “plank the curve” on the stations’ Facebook pages. The campaign performed extremely well, receiving more than 120 entries in Nunavut and 60 entries in NWT and giving out a total of 12 gifts cards in each region.

Throughout the campaign many creative photos were received ranging from science experiments, hobbies, outdoor activities and family activities like parents teaching their children the basics about fishing, hunting, and butchering, to harvesting fresh summer produce, and messages of hope and love.  

Some interesting and creative prize-winning entries, included hand-sewn clothes by Tuktoyaktuk's Veryl Gruben (right) as well as a delicious summer harvest by Melanie Violet, also a resident of Tuktoyaktuk.

“I think these contests reinforced the messaging surrounding COVID-19 safety and staying home to plank the curve. It’s been a very successful campaign with a lot of recognition across the North and we are very pleased to have had the Northwest Company as our sponsor. Furthermore, with Nunavut only having three cases, all derived from employees from down South coming into the territory, I think it’s safe to say the campaign contributed to the overall mindset about precautions in both the regions,” shared Laura Whittle, NNSL Media Advertising Representative.

The North West Company Inc. is proud to have been a part of these helpful initiatives and looks forward to further supporting these communities through other creative means.