Thank You, Healthy Horizons Foundation, for Supporting Youth Wrestling and Wellness in Ulukhaktok
Beat the Streets is grateful to the Healthy Horizons Foundation for its generous support of the Ulukhaktok Youth Wrestling & Wellness Program, a community-based initiative that will help Inuit youth in Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories stay active, build confidence and strengthen connections with their peers and community.
With this support, the program will engage approximately 20–30 youth ages 10–18 through a 16-week schedule of twice-weekly wrestling sessions, monthly beading workshops and youth-led storytelling activities. The program provides consistent opportunities for youth to move, learn, connect and grow in a welcoming environment close to home.
Supporting Healthy, Active Youth in Ulukhaktok
Inuit Wrestling Tournament in Ulukhaktok, 2026. Photo © Monique Smith
Ulukhaktok is a remote Inuvialuit community of approximately 400 residents, where access to structured recreational programming can be limited, particularly outside of school hours. Youth have expressed a need for more opportunities to gather, stay active and feel connected.
The Ulukhaktok Youth Wrestling & Wellness Program responds to that need by combining sport, mentorship, cultural activities and youth leadership. Through regular wrestling sessions, participants will have the chance to develop physical skills, build resilience, strengthen confidence and experience the benefits of being part of a team.
One youth participant and coach-in-training shared:
“Wrestling is important to me because it has healed and helped me through a lot of tough times.”
Hunter, Ulukhaktok Wrestler & Coach-in-Training
What This Support Makes Possible
Funding from the Healthy Horizons Foundation will directly support essential program costs, including sessional coaching, cultural workshop facilitation and supplies, participant uniforms and nutritional snacks. These investments will help ensure that youth have the equipment, support and resources they need to participate fully and consistently.
The grant will support:
32 wrestling practices
4 cultural workshops
Uniforms for up to 30 youth
Nutritional snacks for participants
Local leadership and mentorship opportunities
By supporting both physical activity and wellness programming, the Healthy Horizons Foundation is helping create a stronger foundation for youth participation, belonging and long-term engagement.
More Than a Sport
Wrestling in Ulukhaktok is about more than athletic development. It is creating a space where youth can build discipline, confidence, leadership and connection.
In his letter of support, Pat Klengenberg, Mayor of Ulukhaktok, reflected on the importance of the program for local youth, writing that the Ulukhaktok Wrestling Team is “way more than” one sport activity.
“It goes beyond just being a sport. It opens a door.”
Pat Klengenberg, Mayor of Ulukhaktok
That door can lead to stronger relationships, healthier routines, new opportunities and a deeper sense of what is possible.
The Northwest Territories Amateur Wrestling Association also expressed strong support for the project, noting that wrestling in remote and Indigenous communities can have a powerful impact on youth well-being, leadership and community connection.
About the Healthy Horizons Foundation
The Healthy Horizons Foundation supports youth health and well-being in the communities served by The North West Company, with a focus on helping young people build lifelong connections to physical activity, nutrition, education and wellness. Its commitment to supporting youth in northern and remote communities aligns closely with the goals of the Ulukhaktok Youth Wrestling & Wellness Program: creating consistent opportunities for young people to stay active, build confidence and feel connected to their community.
Thank You, Healthy Horizons Foundation
We are deeply thankful to the Healthy Horizons Foundation for investing in youth health, wellness and opportunity in Ulukhaktok.
Your support will help youth access consistent programming, build confidence, stay active and connect with their community through sport and culture.
From Beat the Streets and the Ulukhaktok wrestling community: koana.
Thank you for helping young people grow stronger on and off the mat.
About Beat the Streets:
At Beat the Streets, our mission is to advance the education of low-income children and youth in the Greater Toronto Area through fun and unique wrestling, life skills, and employment-based development programs. Since 2015, we have served over 28,000 young individuals through our Wrestle 4 Fun, Level Up, You Grow Girl, Work it Girl, After-School and Open Mat Sessions programs, providing them with opportunities to develop their physical, mental, and social well-being. We believe in empowering the next generation by breaking down barriers and creating pathways to success.
Join us in our mission to impact youth:
Join us in making a difference by supporting our cause and learning more about how you can contribute to the education and growth of children and youth in need. Together, we can shape a brighter future for all.
