RBC supports diversity with the
Children's Aid Foundation
Recently, RBC announced in partnership with the Children’s Aid Foundation the creation of a new national diversity fund program to help children and youth in need. With an increasingly diverse child and youth population, programs need to have better consideration of ethnic, religious, cultural, linguistic and other differences to be effective.
“RBC is committed to supporting a wide range of initiatives to help at risk children and youth realize their potential. Unfortunately, the downturn in the economy has a negative effect on the number of abused and neglected children and youth,” said Shari Austin, executive director of the RBC Foundation. “This innovative program will help provide social workers with the tools and education they need to remove language and cultural barriers, while fostering a better understanding of the unique needs of immigrants, refugees and youth.”
Working with the Children’s Aid Foundation, RBC realized a need for additional funding for children from multicultural and immigrant backgrounds who are at risk for crisis or family breakdown. A large number of new families to Canada and refugees struggle to make ends meet with high unemployment rates or instances of earning below or near the poverty line.
These families are hard pressed to provide their children with basic necessities such as food, clothing and shelter. Living in chronic poverty also deprives children of an active life that is enriched by play, sports and culture, all of which are well-documented to help children integrate into their new communities and develop self-esteem.
Social workers are supporting an increasingly diverse child and youth population. Programs need to have better consideration of cultural and religious sensitivities to work with the growing diversity. Language and cultural barriers can make it difficult for both the child and their family to get full benefit from the existing programs, which puts these children at a further disadvantage. In addition, immigrant families often lack awareness of the supports they can access in their new communities
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That’s where the RBC New Beginnings: National Diversity Fund for Children comes in. This flexible resource will be available to help social workers and other child welfare organizations reach cultural competency when working with the broadening diversity of children and youth. The program will help fund a broad spectrum of needs such as helping newcomer families with practical supports like cribs or winter clothes, emergency support to prevent homelessness, and therapy to help refugee children heal from trauma they experienced fleeing their homeland. The fund is unique in that it treats no two children or families the same and because of this it will have a profound impact on their personal circumstance.
“In partnership with RBC, the Children’s Aid Foundation will take a leadership role within the child welfare community in engaging newcomer and ethnically diverse children, youth and families,” said Ann Barnard Ball, executive director of the Children’s Aid Foundation. “We are looking forward to expanding our relationship with RBC and seeing the difference we can make together in the lives of children.”
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