Volunteer with the Grassy Narrows First Nations community at its annual march

You can support the Grassy Narrows First Nations community by volunteering for its annual River Run in Toronto on Sept. 23, 2026. 

Every year, Indigenous community members from the Grassy Narrows First Nation march in the Grassy Narrows River Run to call for environmental justice. 

In the 1960s, a paper mill in Dryden, Ontario, the Dryden Chemical Company, dumped nine tonnes of mercury into the Wabigoon-English river system, poisoning the fish and water that supported the Grassy Narrows community with food. Since then, the community hosts annual marches to “demand mercury justice.” This includes restoration initiatives, helping the community clean the environment from mercury poisoning, fair compensation and more. 

The march will begin from Grassy Narrows which is in Northeastern Ontario, and the crowd will reach Toronto at 12 p.m. in Grange Park. 

If the initiative piques your interest and you’d like to support the community, there are a few different volunteering opportunities you can sign up for.

If you’re interested in being part of the promotional crew ahead of the march, you can:

• Poster and promote the rally across the city.
• Hand out flyers to encourage people to attend.
• Participate in art and banner making.
• Make confirmation calls to people who have RSVP’d.

If you’re interested in uplifting other volunteers, you can:

• Help set up between 3 to 9 p.m on Sept. 23 for the community dinner that celebrates the supporters and community members of Grassy Narrows First Nation.

If you’re interested in participating the day of, you can:

• Marshall through the crowd to make sure everyone is moving in the correct direction and waiting at the right intersections.
• Drive vans and trucks to help move material, sound and accessibility vehicles.
• Support tech-related things like live streams, mics and more.

You can learn more about the initiative by checking out the freegrassy.net to see the purpose of the run and how to get involved. 

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