Masks for Kids Fundraiser

Wintergreen Learning Materials is supporting VIO Volunteers’ goal to supply masks to kids in northern, remote and Indigenous Ontario for the academic year

OTTAWA, August 17, 2020 — “Every child has a right to feel safe when returning to school,” says Claudine Santos, volunteer president of VIO Volunteers and director of parliamentary affairs for Nunavut Senator Dennis Patterson. With Ontario parents staring down the barrel of a regular September start date, the stark divisions between regional readiness are coming into focus.

While the province is recommending cloth masks, that’s not a solution for communities without access to clean water to launder them regularly. These chronically underfunded areas will be at a higher risk for becoming the new hotspots, which is why VIO Volunteers and Wintergreen Learning Materials are teaming up to equip kids in northern, remote and Indigenous Ontario with masks for a safe return to school and learning.

“There is a need to ensure that children are protected,” says Santos, who is leading the NGO’s drive to distribute these life-saving supplies. “Government alone can’t meet the needs of Indigenous communities and we’re hoping to help.”

Wintergreen Learning Materials is lending its support by helping to raise the funds to secure the necessary Personal Protective Equipment. “As a supporter of remote, northern and Indigenous communities and children throughout our 43-year history, it’s become vitally important to us at Wintergreen that we do whatever we can to help others that are working to keep all communities supplied and safe,” says Michael Hayward, Wintergreen Learning Materials’ president and CEO.

The Masks In Every Community GoFundMe campaign launches on August 19 with an initial fundraising goal of $12,000. With no overhead, every dollar is going towards the purchase and delivery of Personal Protective Equipment. This target will supply nine communities with masks for the entire school year.

Reaching the campaign’s stretch goal of $19,000 would mean supplying an additional five communities for the academic calendar as well as provide hand sanitizer, no touch thermometers and other much needed supplies.

About VIO Volunteers

VIO Volunteers began as a public Facebook group and volunteer initiative founded on March 21, 2020 by Matt Drouillard. On May 4, 2020, VIO Volunteers was registered as a nonprofit under the Canada Not-For-Profit Corporations Act for added accountability and transparency. Since it’s registration, VIO Volunteers has distributed 650,500 masks, 350 face shields, 5,012 litres of hand sanitizer and hundreds of boxes of gloves to 59 Indigenous communities and one organization focused on supporting the urban Indigenous community in Ottawa.

About Wintergreen Learning Materials

For 43 years, Wintergreen Learning Materials has been providing Canadian educators and child care providers with unique, exclusive and high-quality furniture, curriculum materials, and essential classroom supplies. They proudly support the education, safety and care of children across the country with materials Canadians can depend on, and service they can trust.

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PRESS CONTACT

Claudine Santos, President VIO Volunteers, (613) 601-1184, claudine.santos@viovolunteers.org Erin Duffey, Marketing Manager Wintergreen Learning Materials, 1-800-268-1268 ext. 237, erin@wintergreen.ca

Masks for Kids Fundraiser

Masks for Kids Fundraiser

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