Toronto, Ontario – October 6, 2010 – Humber College and Boost Child Abuse Prevention & Intervention, in partnership with the Canadian Child Care Federation and the University of Guelph-Humber, have launched the sixth annual national Go Purple for Prevention! Campaign. The event is held each year to raise awareness and provide education to prevent abuse and violence in the lives of children and youth. It is an important opportunity for all schools, organizations, businesses, and individuals to participate and promote the need for child abuse awareness and prevention.
Go Purple for Prevention! also marks the start of the month of October which is Child Abuse Prevention Month. Activities will be held throughout the month to raise awareness and provide education aimed at combating child abuse.
“Boost believes that child abuse can be prevented by educating adults about how to keep kids safe and by teaching children how to get help when needed,” says Karyn Kennedy, executive director, Boost. “The Go Purple for Prevention! Campaign was developed to reach out to parents, caregivers and educators to be proactive about recognizing high risk situations.”
Humber Creative Advertising students designed a series of posters and a Public Service Announcement to promote and raise awareness of the campaign. This initiative is supported by Humber students in the School of Social & Community Services and the School of Health Sciences.
“Humber is committed to supporting children and youth in our community. We are proud to work with our partners to shed light on an important social issue,” says John Davies, president, Humber. “We hope that campaigns like this will raise awareness and empower organizations, schools and individuals to recognize and help prevent child abuse.”
CIBC Children’s Miracle presented Boost with a $30,000 cheque in support of the cause.
“The Canadian Child Care Federation is dedicated to ensuring safety and healthy growth and development of all Canadian children,” says Don Giesbrecht, president, Canadian Child Care Federation. “This new partnership with Humber College and Boost helps bring key child abuse prevention knowledge and practices directly to our early childhood educators and child care practitioners across Canada.“
“CIBC and its employees are pleased to continue our support of Boost and their public awareness campaign,” says Richard Nesbitt, chairman and CEO of CIBC’s wholesale banking business. “Our commitment to Boost is made possible by our clients who do business with us each year and our employees, who donate their fees and commissions to children’s charities on CIBC Miracle Day, held on the first Wednesday in December.”
About Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning
Established in 1967, Humber is one of Canada’s leading postsecondary institutions. Committed to student success through excellence in teaching and learning, Humber serves more than 22,000 full-time students and 56,000 continuing education registrants. With an internationally recognized reputation for quality learning, Humber offers a wide-range of career-focused opportunities for students to personalize their educational path. Our 150 full-time programs include four-year bachelor’s degrees, two and three-year diplomas, one and two-year certificates, and apprenticeship training. As a founding member of Polytechnics Canada, Humber offers students the opportunity to participate in applied research projects that find solutions for issues confronting small and medium-sized enterprises. Humber is one of 12 Vanguard Learning Colleges as identified by the League for Innovation, and the League’s only Canadian board member. Humber finished first in its class in the highly regarded Community College Survey of Student Engagement in 2009 in each of four categories, including Active and Collaborative Learning, Student Effort, Academic Challenge and Student-Faculty Interaction. More than 85 per cent of Humber graduates are employed within six months of completing their studies. Visit humber.ca.
About Boost Child Abuse Prevention & Intervention
Boost is a community-based agency committed to eliminating abuse and violence of children, youth and their families. The centre is a registered charity and provides programs and services to children, youth and their families. This year, Boost is celebrating 29 years of service in the City of Toronto, the Greater Toronto Area, and the Central Region of Ontario.
About The Canadian Child Care Federation (CCCF)
The Canadian Child Care Federation is a vibrant partnership of provincial and territorial child care organizations that represents over 11,000 members, including child care practitioners working in centres and family child care, academics, parents and policy makers. CCCF is committed to excellence in early learning and child care through best and promising practice, capacity building, and collaborations, networks and partnerships.
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For more information, please contact:
Ilena Aldini-Messina/ Andrew Leopold
Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning
416.675.6622 ext. 5479/4296
ilena.aldinimessina@humber,ca /andrew.leopold@humber.ca
