in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, M ar ch 4, 20 21 | 18 Prearranging your funeral is a thoughtful act. AWay to ShowYouCareAboutYour Family Main Office: 600 Spring Gardens Road, Burlington, ON L7T 1J1 • The Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of the Diocese of Hamilton in Ontario Holy Family Catholic Cemetery offers options for both traditional casket burial and cremation. Prearranging now means your family will avoid having to make decisions during their time of grief. Contact us today to discuss your wishes and options. Call 905-522-7727 or 1-800-661-5985, or visit our website to find out more. www.thecatholiccemeteries.ca Poverty is a serious bar- rier to student success. The Halton Catholic Children's Foundation has kicked off an ambitious three-year strategic plan aimed at doubling the number of students they support by 2024. The goal is to eliminate more of the fi- nancial barriers keeping local young people from succeeding at school. Since 2012, the founda- tion has partnered with the Halton Catholic district School Board to help cover the costs for student neces- sities, supplies, school fees, learning materials and more. "Poverty remains a pow- erful factor in whether stu- dents succeed in school, and we know students want to succeed in school, but there are barriers in the way. One of those barri- ers often is financial, so whether it's for basic ne- cessities, food, clothing, eye glasses or learning technology, those can be- come barriers," said Marc Clare, executive director of the Halton Catholic Chil- dren's Foundation. According to Communi- ty Development Halton, 8.2 per cent of the Halton pop- ulation lives below the pov- erty line. That works out to suggest that roughly 3,800 students of the Halton Catholic board live in pov- erty. The foundation has as- sisted about 300 local stu- dents per year. "We know that when children succeed in school, their life chances and life opportunities open up. We want to provide them with those opportunities," said Clare. Alongside the new goal, the foundation has unveiled a revised name, logo and website. The new branding and site aim to streamline the donation process. "The need for sure has grown. The pandemic cer- tainly has highlighted the need. There's families los- ing work, families going through a health crisis and families who are not able to work because they have health conditions," said Clare. For more information, or to provide a donation, visit www.hccf.ca. BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS TO EDUCATIONAL SUCCESS Marc Clare, executive director of the Halton Catholic Children's Foundation, is hoping to boost financial support for students in need. Graham Paine/Metroland ROLAND CILLIERS rcilliers@metroland.com NEWS HALTON CATHOLIC CHILDREN'S FOUNDATION AIMS TO DOUBLE ITS STUDENT SUPPORT "Poverty remains a powerful factor in whether students succeed in school, and we know students want to succeed in school." - Marc Clare