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Help support The Toronto Zoo fundraise for the enrichment of the Zoo’s arctic wolf and polar bear enclosures, as well as polar conservation efforts. I will be participating in the 5k walk/run and have a donation page up (linked below!) where you can donate to the fundraiser.

If I raise over $400, not only is that money all going towards a great cause, but I would also be entered into a draw for a painting done by one of their polar bears 😀 and that’d be really cool.

Instead of a gift this holiday season, I highly encourage you to donate whatever you feel comfortable donating to help the Toronto Zoo reach their fundraising goal. Please do not underestimate your impact, even a singular dollar is better than no dollar and you will directly help these beautiful animals that are unfortunately at the mercy of human greed.

If you want to read a little bit more about polar bears, read my older blog post here -> Entry #11 – Bears

For more information on the fundraiser, please visit this link -> Fundraising info — 2026 — Move Your Paws 5K & 1K Race Roster — Registration, Marketing, Fundraising

Here is the general information page for the fundraiser walk/run if you are interested in participating yourself! -> Move Your Paws 5k & 1k Event Info

Photos provided by a friend who helped install a wildlife camera outside of CFS Alert.

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There was this funny post a while ago that described when you get to a certain age, you generally have an animal that you and others seem to associate yourself with. Crazy cat lady, fishing bro, horse girls, bird nerd, you name it. In fact, I can name exact people I know that fit each of these categories and more. When I was younger, it was probably dolphins or dogs, but since coming back from Alert, I seem to have begun a polar bear collection.

Shirts, stuffed animals, Christmas ornaments, etc. When I was a kid, I remember my dad saying, “You know, our family is like polar bears. It’s why we have to stick together.” Or something like that. Which is ironic because polar bears, and bears in general, aren’t pack animals, but the sentiment was cute and proves the association between me and bears has always been there.

Of course, you don’t need a personal connection to care about polar fauna or conservation, but what would a Valerie blog post be without a little anecdote. I wanted to participate in this fundraiser last year, but I was too late and had completely sold out so I wanted to make sure I was early this time around.

I would like to highlight: THIS MONEY IS NOT GOING TO ME!!

All donations, to any team or individual participant page, go directly to The Toronto Zoo’s fundraiser. My page is merely a tracker of how many donations have been made in association with me.

I am super excited to do something like this, as I have never signed up for a fundraiser/charity run, or really raised money for something like this. No matter how much we manage to raise together, it will be a victory.

Thank you for reading, and thank you so much for sending a loonie to the polar bears and arctic wolves of The Toronto Zoo ❤