Thunder Bay, ON — Rebecca Carr is calling on the area to join her on August 23 for a Taking Back the Trails The public Walk around the Boulevard Lake loop in Thunder Bay, Ont.
While Carr has recently been in the area, the walk will be her first time on the trails since she was attacked on May 7 during a morning run around the lake. “I just feel stronger when I’m with people. So I’m ready and I’m looking forward to it.
I’m looking forward to getting back to it. I just haven’t put a timeline on it. So the walk’s a perfect date,” Carr confirmed. Although she can’t exactly speak to her rescuers’ experiences, she indicated, when she kept thinking about how she was seen, in her heart, she knew that what she was or wasn’t wearing at the time had a little bit to do with it.
Nonetheless, after meeting with Ungalli's co-founders, and having conversations, Carr advised, they completely supported her the whole way and the initiative took off.
“At the last minute, in my head, I was like, ‘It’s cold out. I’m going to grab my purple hat.’ Otherwise I would have put on my black hat and been completely in black,” Carr remarked, noting how she was also wearing a loose-fitting large black sweater and black pants at the time. After the incident, she stated she remembered feeling grateful to have been rescued and couldn’t help thinking about how she had been cared for that day. “I wanted to keep thinking about other people in the local residents and about feeling seen and feeling safe,” Carr declared, noting how the idea to partner with Ungalli Clothing Co. to create a purple hat called ‘Taking Back the Trails’ stemmed from that goal. She had always followed a lot of Ungalli’s work in Thunder Bay and knew they were very community-based, Carr confirmed. “When I thought about this local residents initiative, they popped up in my mind, especially as a woman-led business. I reached out to them about it and I’m not even sure at that time I had the proper thoughts or the proper words for what I was trying to say,” Carr declared. Nonetheless, after meeting with Ungalli's co-founders, and having conversations, Carr advised, they completely supported her the whole way and the initiative took off. “We’ve both spent countless hours walking around Boulevard Lake and it was impossible not to picture ourselves, our moms, sisters, our friends or one day even our daughters in that same situation. It really hit home,” declared Hailey Buosi, a co-founder of Ungalli, in a media release. Bree Hollinsworth, also a co-founder, agreed in the release that every woman should be able to go for a walk, work out, clear her mind, spend time with her family or enjoy being outside without feeling afraid. “We’re hearing more and more stories like this in our citizens, so helping to organize this walk felt like a way to show Rebecca, and all women, that her citizens cares, that she isn’t alone and we’re standing beside her,” Hollinsworth noted. Despite having a lot of support, which Carr was extremely grateful for, she stated it led her to believe the initiative was worthwhile and there was currently significant fear in the area about using recreation trails. “That’s stuck with me because I didn’t want this experience to continue, letting people have fear in using our trails,” Carr stated. “We’re hoping that we have a lot of people in purple hats that day because I think it will just really strengthen the initiative, but there’s no pressure and ultimately we just want the support of the region,” Carr remarked. Carr advised they also have a donation people can give at that time and they will receive a bib to be officially part of the walk. Proceeds from every hat sold, available for pre-saleonline, will go toward supporting survivors of violence, community self-defence programming and safety workshops for women in Thunder Bay. “We have two organizations that we’re looking at and we haven’t finalized it completely, but for sure, going towards victims of attacks,” Carr declared. Nicky Shaw is a reporter for CBC Thunder Bay. She graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism and a minor in Environmental and Climate Humanities from Carleton University. Aligning with her passion for covering global environmental and humanitarian issues, she has worked to develop in-depth multimedia content that shares the diverse experiences of people in Northwestern Ontario. It is a priority for CBC to create products that are accessible to all in Canada including people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive challenges. Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered onCBC Gem..
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📍 Source: CBC News Thunder Bay · By: CBC News Staff · 🗓️ July 27, 2026 · 🏠 ThunderBay.Online
