A United Way representative from Grand Erie District School Board sits beside Campaign Director for the United Way of Brant, Kristin Pass. Beside Pass is principal of North Ward School, Ruth Mills, who's holding little baby Ben. Ben's proud mother, Emily Hyde, sits beside Mills who came to support Roots of Empathy, one of many programs supported by The United Way. Roots of Empathy is one of many reasons why Grand Erie District School Board is showing support for The United Way in this year’s campaign, which runs from September 27 to October 7, 2011.
The United Way is a non-profit organization that raises funds for voluntary sectors and social services in Canada in hopes of strengthening the community and improving the quality of life for Canadians.
“Grand Erie District Board believes the United Way is important because it allows us to be engaged in the community and make a real difference for local families,” says John Forbeck, Director of Education.
For this reason, Grand Erie DSB is backing The United Way as their charity of choice and for the first time the Board has brought together United Way representatives from each school across the entire Board to learn about how to run an effective campaign.
United Way reps were invited to North Park Collegiate on September 27 for a presentation coordinated by United Way of Haldimand-Norfolk and United Way of Brant staff.
With a light refreshment in hand, Grand Erie DSB’s United Way reps listened to a presentation that began with Director Forbeck share with the group how he was touched by The United Way. He also talked about the importance of the campaign and why it’s necessary to get involved at each school.
The United Way has helped raise money for a range of programs that support Grand Erie schools including: Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Brant Food for Thought, Haldimand-Norfolk REACH, and Kids Can Fly.
During the morning kick-off, The United Way highlighted an outstanding program called Roots of Empathy, an anti-bullying program that teaches students empathy and has been proven to reduce student aggression by 88%.
The Roots of Empathy program helps children deepen their understanding of themselves as well as others and help them become more tolerant of others.
Ruth Mills, principal of NorthWardPublic School, has four classes involved in the program. Mills talked about how a stress-free environment is crucial in a child’s learning process.
“Literacy and numeracy skills, and subsequent higher order thinking skills, will only happen when children feel safe and included in the school environment,” she says.
The program brings in a baby and a mom into a classroom once a month for a school year and creates a foundation for teaching a range of skills from emotional literacy to human growth and development.
Mother Emily and baby Ben were featured in the presentation. Emily has used this program with her first child and found the program very beneficial.
After Emily’s verbal endorsement of the program to the Grand Erie DSB’s United Way reps, she read many heartwarming comments written by students who participated in the Roots program when her older son participated as the baby in the class.
“My wish is that you are never bullied” and “I wish for you to fulfill all your wishes in life,” were just some of the passages she read from the student-made scrapbook.
All United Way representatives were sent back to their schools with motivation from The United Way, along with great ideas to run a campaign and a useful resource kit provided by both United Ways.
Everyone is encouraged to participate in the United Way campaign as every donation makes a difference.
“Everyone has something to contribute” said Forbeck.
To donate to The United Way visit, www.unitedway.ca or support your school’s United Way funding program.
Grand Erie District School Board's United Way Campaign runs from September 27 to October 7, 2011.