Nov. 22, 2024 — Halton Learning Foundation

1000 HDSB students received emergency assistance since the beginning of this school year

“Emma, Sophia, and Emily are three lovely girls living with their grandpa who was laid off work to take care of them. Mom just came home after being in rehab for years. The girls have faced significant trauma, neither grandpa or mom work or have stable income.”

The Halton Learning Foundation (HLF) is launching its “No Student Left Behind” campaign, to ensure that students like Emma, Sophia, and Emily have the support they need to succeed in school and fully participate in all aspects of student life without being left behind.

As the winter season approaches, it is vital to ensure all students will have warm winter clothes, nutritious food, and learning opportunities. HLF is dedicating its campaign to remove financial barriers to education for students across the Halton District School Board (HDSB), which is crucial for fostering an inclusive environment where every student can thrive.

Each year, HLF responds to thousands of requests for assistance from students whose families struggle to afford these basics. Since the beginning of this school year, HLF has granted emergency support to over 1000 students across the Halton region, and the demand continues to grow.

“The financial challenges facing many families in our community can make it difficult for students to keep up with their peers,” said Marc Clare, CEO of HLF. “No child should feel excluded or miss out on learning opportunities because of financial hardships. Through this campaign, we aim to provide students like Emma, Sophia, and Emily with the essentials they need to succeed and feel part of the school community. We can break the cycle of poverty in Halton region by supporting education for students in need.”

“We know that several hundred more students and their families will request support before the holiday break, and we need to be able to continue to say “YES” to every request for emergency assistance we receive with the support of our community”, continued
Clare.

“HLF has been incredibly supportive of the students and their families in the Burlington Central School community.  When we have been able to support students through HLF gift cards, they are able to access food, clothing and the basic items that they need, which makes them much more able to engage in their learning at school,” Trish Clarke, Principal of Burlington Central School said.

“HLF has supported families in our community who have a wide variety of lived experiences and provided them with financial support for field trips, school extracurricular activities, and post-secondary applications.  Burlington Central School is very grateful for the work HLF is doing!” Trish added.

HLF is calling on individuals, businesses, corporations, and the community to consider making a gift to the HDSB students in need.

For more information on how to support the “No Student Left Behind” campaign, please visit HLF’s website at nostudentleftbehind.ca, and you can contact HLF at info@haltonlearningfoundation.ca.