With the onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the Mothers Matter Centre (MMC) has been faced with the urgent need to adapt a new strategy for delivery of Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) – an early learning program for low-income refugee and Indigenous children ages three to five.
The current pandemic has reinforced the need for HIPPY to go virtual with digital technology during the upcoming 2020-21 program year. Without the continuation of support in these critical times, vulnerable refugee and Indigenous children from isolated homes will lose access to programs, like HIPPY, that close school readiness gaps.
The ability for HIPPY to communicate with isolated families and support the educational success of children will depend on securing reliable tablets for participants. We are pleased to share that we have nearly hit its fundraising goal of $250,000 to provide tablets to HIPPY families across Canada for the upcoming program year, but we need to reach our target to provide a tablet to every HIPPY family across the country.
How Can You Help?
By donating to the HIPPY Goes Virtual campaign, you will be directly supporting a family to continue in HIPPY with their own tablet, which is theirs to keep beyond the program. Through tablets, families will be able to stay connected to their Home Visitors, families, and greater communities. With many schools continuing to transition to an online format, the provision of tablets for families will also ensure that already vulnerable children do not fall even further behind in an increasingly digital world.
If you donate $200 or more and would like to be identified as the donor to the family that receives your tablet, please indicate so in the “message” section of the donation form.