- from Linda Alexander
Hello my dear fellow Vincentians! Thank you for your interest in bringing hope and opportunities to the precious children and families we serve through the 3 pillars of Health, Education and Wellness (HEW).
I wanted to use this month’s newsletter to shine a light on: National Education Savings Week, suggestion on how to help neighbours access ID, sharing a story about a bank experience, idea on how to use the Christmas bundles to also share educational hope, sharing a rent infographic and the new 811 resource (Ontario specific).
I realize there is a lot of content in this month’s update, please feel free to call or email with any questions you may have.
1. National Education Savings Week: November 13 to 17. The Canada Education Savings Program (CESP) is conducting a number of virtual sessions and have created a new CLB resource page.
Please follow this link for more information. Education Savings Week 2023 is approaching (mailchi.mp)
2. One the barriers to accessing the Canada Learning Bond is lack of identification – whether the ID has been lost in a move or never applied for. Vincentians can assist in this regard. I recently met a mom at the library and helped her go through the on line application process to access the Social Insurance Numbers for her children. She did not have a laptop so applying was too difficult without assistance. The numbers arrived without 2 weeks, I helped her make an appointment at the bank, met her there and her 3 children now have access to $6,000 of educational hope. The neighbour can also make an appointment at Service Canada to get access to ID.
(Some background for Ontario only, when a child is born, the parents can use the online 5-in-1 newborn bundle, to register the birth, apply for the birth certificate, apply for the social insurance number, apply for the Canada Child Benefit, and request an Education Savings referral. Register a birth (new baby) | ontario.ca )
Offering to accompany a neighbour to the bank (if they want this help, many do as are too anxious to go to the bank alone) can really help to increase access. The application process is very straight forward and should take 30 minutes or so. Especially if the neighbour already banks there. The banker will open the RESP account and then complete the on line application to apply for the Canada Learning Bond and the Canada Educations Savings Grant. I have attached a hard copy of the application only so you can see just how simple it is, there are literally 4 pieces of information they have to type into the system, the parents name, the child’s name, their date of birth and social insurance number, they hit enter and the application is on its way. The neighbour will be asked where they want to invest the funds. They want to preserve the capital as they have no to low risk tolerance, little to no financial market knowledge, so the banker should be suggesting a Guaranteed Income Certificate (GIC). This will allow the savings to grow at absolutely no risk.
3. Many conferences offer Christmas support to our neighbours. Please consider adding the RESP/Canada Learning Bond Family Fact Sheet that is on the SOH toolkit (link below) to also plant the seeds of educational hope.
4. Please note these 2 resources are Ontario specific. We are hearing more and more stories of neighbours facing challenges from their landlords. It is so important that they know their rights as tenants. We can assist by referring them to the Community Legal Clinics. I noticed the attached infographic shared in a recent newsletter from CLEO about rent increases that I found straightforward and helpful. Home - CLEO (Community Legal Education Ontario / Éducation juridique communautaire Ontario)
Ontario announced an 811 number - Health Connect. An information sheet is attached. https://health811.ontario.ca/
5. We are determined that no child will be left behind in receiving the Canada Learning Bond ! Every child deserves hope for a brighter educational future.
Please reach out to set up a zoom coaching session for your conference or for an individual coaching session. The session content runs just under 20 minutes, with time available for questions after the presentation, as well as support by email or phone after the presentation. Join the growing number of conferences who are getting informed, making a list of families with children 19 years of age and younger and then reaching out to the families one by one to explain the opportunity and to walk alongside them to access!
Please use this link to access the SOH toolkit on the National website.
https://ssvp.ca/special-
https://ssvp.ca/fr/projets-
Please use this link to access the Ontario Rejuvenation and Recruitment workshop as we continue to work to build member capacity. https://ssvp.ca/wp-content/
Please use this link to access the Social Justice workshop – Access to Resources https://ssvp.on.ca/socjus/en/
Thank you for your interest and support in bringing this much needed hope to the precious children we serve!
If you know of a fellow Vincentian who would be interested in learning more about the project, please share this note along. If you no longer wish to be part of the Seeds of Hope communication process, please also let me know.
Take care, Linda
Linda Alexander
Seeds of Hope Project Manager