Fundraiser. Great Canadian Giving Challenge. Diversity. Biodiversity.

“The mycorrhizae may form fungal bridges between individual trees, so that all the trees in a forest are connected. These fungal networks appear to redistribute the wealth of carbohydrates from tree to tree. A kind of Robin Hood, they take from the rich and give to the poor so that all the trees arrive at the same carbon surplus at the same time. They weave a web of reciprocity, of giving and taking. In this way, the trees all act as one because the fungi have connected them. Through unity, survival. All flourishing is mutual. Soil, fungus, tree, squirrel, boy—all are the beneficiaries of reciprocity.”

—Robin Wall Kimmerer

“Diversity is the magic. It is the first manifestation, the first beginning of the differentiation of a thing and of simple identity. The greater the diversity, the greater the perfection.”

— Thomas Berry, Cultural Historian 

“It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.”

— Maya Angelou, Poet & Civil Rights Activist

It’s the last week of CanadaHelps’ month-long Great Canadian Giving Challenge where we invite our community to invest in us by donating to our campaign, Spirited Climate Action, and help us win $20,000. The more gifts we receive, the more likely we are to win the prize. 

In this final blog of the Giving Challenge, we want to share with you the critical need to uplift diversity. It is not debatable: diversity is critical if we are to have any hope of a sustainable future, period. Put simply, diversity is LIFE. Without diversity, life is fragile, impoverished, diminished, weaker–and just less. There is no situation in nature where this is not the case, including humans. Nature is an abundance of intelligent biodiversity, it is an interconnected web of life that we are part of, not apart from. As you know, June is also PRIDE month, and at FCG we are allies with our queer communities, embracing the glorious rainbow that is humankind.

And so, in this final June Challenge appeal, our hope is that we raise enough dollars to update our many resources and create new ones that reflect and engage the bounty and diversity of our network, expand our reach, and increase faith-based climate action in communities across Canada. Will you help? We do hope so. Please invest in diversity by investing in us. Donate today.