OUR SOS CHILDREN

With so many children living in need here in Waterloo Region, it can be hard to decide which children need our help most. That's why we rely on teachers to help identify the children who would benefit most from the program. These teachers are on the "front lines" witnessing the impact of child poverty on learning readiness. And they can provide us with important insights and feedback on the effectiveness of the program.

Once teachers have submitted the names of children who may benefit, packages are sent to the parents who can choose whether they would like their child to be involved in the program.

Most programs which provide clothing or toys for children make use of child "categories" rather than actual children... so sponsors will shop for "an 8-year-old girl", for example. Send'em Off Smiling is a little different. Although the privacy and anonymity of our SOS children are carefully protected, our sponsors and shoppers are in fact shopping for an actual child... who will be looking forward to his or her package with great excitement!

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