By Jack Brittle, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
On April 1, the Halton District School Board (HDSB) held one of its monthly Board of Trustees meetings to discuss items relevant to the board and its students.
Marc Clare, CEO of the Halton Learning Foundation (HLF), guided trustees through a presentation on HLF Month, held in April.
“The nature of my request to speak tonight is certainly to connect with the people that are present, but also to the people who are watching from home and to highlight what HLF is all about and the important initiative for HLF Month,” Clare said.
HLF Month kicked off with a flag-raising ceremony at the J.W. Singleton Education Centre the same day.
Clare started the presentation by telling a story about a student who was helped by HLF.
Clare received an email in December from a teacher of special needs students whose student had been helped by HLF. The student’s family was given a gift card to buy her a new winter coat to replace an old one that was inadequate to keep her warm after the teacher applied on the student’s behalf to HLF. The student was thrilled with her new coat.
“That got me thinking that we need more ‘beautiful pink winter coat moments,’ where kids feel included and cared for,” Clare said. “Their basic necessities are being met, and they’re feeling proud.”
“And that’s really what Halton Learning Foundation is all about, helping students to feel included in their journey of learning,” Clare continued.
Clare said that the foundation has already surpassed 2600 students helped this year, 500 more than at the same time last year. They are on track to support approximately 3600 students by the end of the school year.
He said that as HLF is a not-for-profit, they rely on donations from community members and spoke about the different ways that citizens can get the word out and gather money for the foundation. “Maybe it’s a bake sale, maybe it’s as simple as putting up a poster in your business,” Clare said.
Curtis Ennis, director of education for the HDSB, organized a four-square game between trustees and senior staff to raise awareness and funds for the HLF and is bringing back the event this year. Clare himself did a 100-kilometre bike ride last HLF Month, which he called “Tour de Halton.” He will do the ride again this year on April 24.
Clare said that they received 130 auditions for this year’s Students in the Spotlight event and have narrowed those down to 18 or 19 students who will be performing live on stage. The event will be held at Burlington Central High School on April 30 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25 for adults and $10 for students.
Clare said the event is meant to create more “beautiful pink winter coat moments.”
Jeanne Gray, trustee for Halton Hills, spoke about her experience with HLF, and its growing importance to the community.
“One of the things that I have come to know about the HLF is that they’ve never, ever said no to a request for financial resources, funding, equipment, supplies, even with our schools and some of their needs,” Gray said. “And I think it’s quite notable that this year, as we see from the graphic, that the ask is growing and may grow through the spring, possibly exponentially, as we face difficult and different times in our communities.”
To find out more about HLF Month and how to get involved, visit https://www.haltonlearningfoundation.ca/hlfmonth/.
