LINDSAY, ON – Three community groups recently augmented the Trillium Lakelands District School Board (TLDSB) Feed All Four Fund: in January, the Board received $1,500 from the Optimist Club of Lindsay; in February, the Muskoka Community Foundation presented the Board with grants totalling $20,000; and in March, the Board received $1,270 from the Children’s Foundation of Muskoka.
At the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year, TLDSB staff had the opportunity to contribute to a Feed All Four Fund to help support student well-being and families in need, particularly those most challenged due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. While much of the fund has been raised through staff donations, support from local community groups has been an encouraging and appreciated addition.
Feed All Four was developed out of an ongoing need to align teaching and learning with student well-being. The concept is based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and the First Nations medicine wheel, highlighting how support for the body, mind, spirit, and emotions increases a sense of well-being, connectedness, and resilience leading to improved student achievement.
Two of the donations made by community groups were given in honour of former TLDSB teachers. $10,000 of the donation from the Muskoka Community Foundation came from the “Patricia’s Fund”, and the donation from the Children’s Foundation of Muskoka was donated in honour of Deborah Niemi.
Money raised for the Feed All Four fund is used by a school to purchase grocery, gas, or other essentials gift cards to be provided to families in need. To date, the Board has had 49 requests from 30 schools and $20,000 of the $50,000 fund has already been disbursed. TLDSB plans to continue to manage the fund to provide a way for school administrators to quickly fill a need in their school community.
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