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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, F eb ru ar y 24 ,2 02 2 | 36 sgel gnillevel elbatsujdA • tatsomreht lacinahceM • rezeerf tsehc yticapac )L 791( .tf .uc 0.7 • C°34 ot C°71- morf serutarepmet ni mrofrep nac rezeerf :ydaer egaraG • rezeerF enolA-dnatS a htiW seirecorG fo stsoC gnisiR eht taeB sdooF etiruovaF ruoY ezeerF dna kluB ni yuB SERUTAEF 7491 ECNIS MW1B070FCD nwohS ledoM | moc.ybnaD ta srezeerF fo eniL lluF s'ybnaD eeS A local organization is looking for your support. The Halton Catholic Children's Foundation (HCCF) launched its Every Student Succeeds Cam- paign and is hoping the public will help it reach its $25,000 funding goal. The foundation provides assis- tance to students by pro- viding basic needs like food, clothing and other ne- cessities. The organization aims to eliminate the financial barriers keeping young people from succeeding at school. Marc Clare, executive director of HCCF, said the pandemic has put added stressors on both local fam- ilies and the foundation it- self. "The COVID-19 pandem- ic has been particularly challenging for students and their families who are in need," said Clare. "Since March 2020, we have assis- ted over 800 Halton Catho- lic District School Board students -- two times the number of students we would typically help in a similar time frame." The Every Student Suc- ceeds Campaign to raise $25,000 is critical to the foundation's ability to meet the funding gap and con- tinue supporting these stu- dents. Marvin Duarte, HCCF board of directors chair, said there are now more students in need of sup- port. "It is shocking when we recognize that 8.2 per cent of Halton's community lives below the poverty line -- and the distance be- tween the haves and have nots increases during times of crisis. The pan- demic has made clear that we need to do more to sup- port the students and their families who are strug- gling and that there are, in fact, more struggling stu- dents to support," said Duarte. The Every Student Suc- ceeds Campaign will run from Feb. 1 to March 31, 2022. To participate, HCCF is collecting donations on- line and via mail-in cheque. For more informa- tion about the campaign and how to make a dona- tion, please visit https:// www.hccf.ca/2022/01/ hccf-every-student-suc- ceeds-campaign. CAMPAIGN TO HELP CATHOLIC STUDENTS MEET BASIC NEEDS Marc Clare is the executive director of the Halton Catholic Children's Foundation. Graham Paine/Metroland ROLAND CILLIERS rcilliers@metroland.com NEWS GOAL IS TO RAISE $25,000 TO ELIMINATE FINANCIAL BARRIERS TO SUCCESS AT SCHOOL "The COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly challenging for students and their families who are in need," - Marc Clare, executive director of HCCF