It takes a village: Breakfast Club of Canada calls on public to support much-needed nationalized in-school breakfast programs
ANCOUVER, Sept. 4, 2017 – With more than 5 million students heading back to school, Breakfast Club of Canada is calling on the public to bring awareness to a shocking truth: every day, 1 in 5 Canadian children are at risk of going to school on an empty stomach. That number is even greater in First Nations, Metis, and Inuit communities, where the risks are closer to 1 in 2. This means that of the 5 million children returning to school this September, over 1 million may be doing so without the proper nourishment required to give them an equal chance at academic success.
To help the rising number of students in need, on September 5th, Breakfast Club of Canada will be launching Start Me Up, a campaign designed to increase public awareness, raise much-needed funds to subsidize breakfast programs in the 500 schools on its waiting list, and gain the attention of the Federal Government, with whom they hope to create a national plan to feed all Canadian schoolchildren. The Club has set an ambitious goal: by 2020, all students in Canada will have access to an in-school meal program. Canada currently stands as the only G7 member and the only member of the 34-nation Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) without a national school meal program.
Three ways to help
The Club is currently providing 200,000 Canadian children and youth access to breakfast every morning in nearly 1,600 schools. However, over 500 schools are currently waiting for funding; the issue is ongoing and urgent. To support Breakfast Club of Canada, people can:
- DONATE: It only takes $1 to purchase a healthy breakfast for a child! Anyone can donate online at www.breakfastclubcanada.org.
- GET SOCIAL: Share the Start Me Up campaign video found on the Club’s Facebook page (@breakfastclubdejeuner). You can also use the hashtag #StartMeUp when posting your child(ren)’s back to school pictures on social media. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwgloicH18w
- SIGN-UP: For the charity’s newsletter to be kept current on upcoming efforts, including volunteer opportunities in communities from coast to coast. www.breakfastclubcanada.org/newsletter/
To access stats on provincial breakfast programs click here: http://prdepartment.ca/breakfastclubofcanadastartmeup/
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For further information: or to request an interview, please contact The PR Department at 416.988.5708 or [email protected]
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