Funds will go to local United Ways and
Centraides across Canada
TORONTO, July 25, 2019 /CNW/ - One in five children lives
in poverty in Canada today. That
means 1.3 million children cannot afford after-school sports or art
classes, join their classmates on school trips or access the
Internet to help with their school work.
To help build more resilient communities, Intact Financial
Corporation (TSX: IFC) is donating $1.34
million to support United Way Centraide-funded programs and
agencies across the country that tackle child poverty in one of two
ways:
- supporting children in their early years (0-6 years old)
- supporting parents through employability, skills building and
networking opportunities
"We need to do more so no child loses the opportunity to learn
and grow. We are addressing the root cause of child poverty:
funding programs that help children learn and interact in their
early years, and funding programs for parents to help them build
skills to become more employable," said Louis Gagnon, President of Canadian Operations,
Intact Financial Corporation.
Mr. Gagnon added that the donation is made possible with the
generosity of Intact employees. "Poverty is a complex issue. With
United Way's expertise and our employees' passion to make a
difference, we are working to empower organizations to find ways to
help children and their families," he said.
For every $1 employees donated to
the United Way campaign last fall, the Intact Foundation allocated
$1 towards child poverty reduction
initiatives. More details on the projects being funded are
available on the next page.
In 2018, Intact invested more than $2
million in 18 partnerships to help children living in
poverty. Intact's direct-to-consumer channel, belairdirect, is
partnering with the Breakfast Clubs of Canada to help children get a good start to
their day. Intact is also partnering with UNICEF Canada to fund the
establishment of the Canadian Index of Child and Youth Well-being,
a measurement framework to understand how children are
thriving.
Quick facts
- According to the 2016 Census, 17% of Canadian children lived in
a low-income household in 2015. The 2017 Canadian Income Survey
showed that number had dropped to 12.1% but it didn't include the
territories and people living on reserves.
- Research by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
and Assembly of First Nations found indigenous, racialized and
recent immigrant children are two to four times more likely to live
in poverty.
- In 2018, the federal government released its first poverty
reduction strategy aiming to reduce poverty by 50% in 2030. The
strategy also set the first official measure of poverty,
Canada's Official Poverty Line,
based on the cost of a basket of goods and services that
individuals and families require to meet their basic needs and
achieve a modest standard of living.
Some of the United Way Centraide-funded projects Intact is
supporting are:
Ontario
United Way Greater Toronto
- WoodGreen Community Services – Homeward Bound ($183,856): Helps single mothers and their
children transition from shelter life to economic self-sufficiency.
The donation will ensure women receive stable housing, life skills
and employment training, one-on-one counselling, childcare and
afterschool programs for their children.
- ACCES Employment – Construction Trades Program ($86,000): A 13-week program that helps
newcomers obtain employment in the construction sector every year.
The program offers language and essential skills training,
industry-recognized certifications and pre-apprenticeship
preparation, as well as employment counselling, job development and
coaching supports.
- Boys and Girls Club of East
Scarborough – Early Years Program ($120,000): Provides support to ensure
children are prepared to succeed as they begin school. The program
focuses on key developmental areas (mathematics, phonics/language,
school readiness and physical activity) and provides family support
workshops for parents.
- Centre for Immigrant and Community Services
– Supporting Families in Transition ($202,000): This school-readiness program
targets immigrant children under the age of six and their parents.
The program helps children prepare for school and provides
workshops for parents.
United Way Durham Region
- John Howard Society Active Parenting & Dads Programs
($29,158): The Active Parenting
program helps parents develop their parenting skills and learn how
to cope with stress, especially during transitional times. The Dads
program helps fathers strengthen their relationship with their
children and build support networks.
United Way Elgin Middlesex (London)
- Merrymount's Mutual Aid Parenting Program ($26,930): Provides free, positive parenting
skills, practical resources and peer support for parents of infants
and toddlers, with a focus on mental health.
United Way Centraide Ottawa
- The Saint Mary's Home – Success for Children of Teen Parents
Program ($20,279): This
attachment-focused parent and child development program provides
adolescent parents (14-25 years old) and their children (prenatal
to age 3 years) with early intervention and support.
- Youville Centre – Attachment-Based Parenting Program
($20,279): Program fosters
healthy attachment relationships by engaging mother and child in
play and music-based interactions, supporting healthy infant brain
development.
- Pinecrest-Queensway Community Health Centre – School's Cool
project ($20,279): This six-week
program, for children three to five years, uses a play-based
curriculum to enhance children's skills in four areas: language,
reasoning, socialization and self-help.
British Columbia
The United Way of Lower Mainland
- Ray-Cam Cooperative Centre – Avenues of Change 'Our Place'
project ($22,170): A
collaboration of local organizations, residents, businesses,
schools, and community centres that have come together to improve
outcomes for residents and increase community well-being in the
inner city of Vancouver.
- The DIVERSEcity Community Resources Society – First Steps
Early Years Refugee & Employment project ($22,170): Creates a safe environment
where vulnerable refugee families can bring their children and
learn how to parent in Canada
while strengthening the parents' pre-employment life skills and
employment support.
Alberta
United Way Alberta Capital Region
- The Connect Society – Child & Family Services project
($20,075): This is a
comprehensive collection of integrated services that helps mediate
the developmental challenges experienced by children and families
impacted by deafness in the early years.
- The Empower U project ($20,075): Combines financial literacy
programs with a 1:2 matched savings component, where every dollar
saved by participants generates two
dollars in matched contributions.
United Way of Calgary and
Area
- EvenStart Foundation – Family Support Program ($30,591): This program helps families
strengthen their parenting skills, pursue educational and
therapeutic goals in the home and connects them with community
resources. It also teaches behavioral management skills and
provides support to the family.
Quebec
- Centraide Richelieu-Yamaska, Centraide of Greater Montreal and Centraide Québec et
Chaudière-Appalaches will distribute $400,000 to Quebec-based charities with a focus on school
readiness, parenting supports and youth success.
Nova Scotia
United Way Halifax
- Home of the Guardian Angel – Chebucto Family Centre
($25,000): Connects residents to
one another and helps them build skills and assets through a range
of community-based programs, activities, events and services.
About Intact Financial Corporation
Intact Financial Corporation (TSX: IFC) is the largest provider
of property and casualty (P&C) insurance in Canada and a leading provider of specialty
insurance in North America, with
over $10 billion in total annual
premiums. The Company has approximately 14,000 full- and part-time
employees who serve more than five million personal, business and
public sector clients through offices in Canada and the U.S. In Canada, Intact distributes insurance under the
Intact Insurance brand through a wide network of brokers, including
its wholly-owned subsidiary BrokerLink, and directly to consumers
through belairdirect. In the U.S., OneBeacon Insurance Group, a
wholly-owned subsidiary, provides specialty insurance products
through independent agencies, brokers, wholesalers and managing
general agencies.
SOURCE Intact Financial Corporation