Nick Strus Memorial Fund

On August 14, 2016 in Brasilito, Costa Rica, my dad, Nick Strus, woke my mom early in the morning. He said he was having chest pains that felt like a pulled muscle.   An hour later my dad was dead.  As we struggle to make sense of his sudden passing, we want to honor his memory in a way that says something about the way he lived his life.

We were a foster family for over 20 years in the Northwest Territories in northern Canada.  When we began, our oath to one another was that our home would be the home for each child who came through our door until that child didn't need us anymore.  Over the years children came and children went, but there were six who stayed and we were blessed to become their forever family through the gift of adoption.  My dad worked so hard to support our family and my mom stayed home with the children and worked in the foster parent community to make life in foster care better for all kids.  One of the projects they undertook with the Foster Family Coalition of the Northwest Territories was Camp Connections, a summer residential camp for children in foster homes.  The derilict old Camp Antler slowly transformed into newly painted and much beloved Camp Connections.  My dad, and many other people, put thousands of hours of work into this transformation and he got to see every one of our children attend and blossom along with hundreds of other children from all over the Northwest Territories.
As a family, we have decided to we want to support Camp Connections in memory of my dad..  The FFC-NWT is fundraising to build Eagle Lodge to replace the crumbling main structure which has served as the cookhouse, dining hall and rainy day activity center. It is the heart of Camp Connections. This all-weather structure is going to cost about $400,000 to build.  $55,000 has been raised so far.  Camp Connections will provide an income tax receipt for every donation above $10.

Help us preserve memories for all the children that have attended over the years and make new ones for years to come.  Help us put Nick Strus's mark on a place he loved.