Smartsaver Community

I was recently at an RESP and Canada Learning Bond sign-up event at a local elementary school and, after the event, I was chatting with the school’s principal. He told me how worried he is for many of his students due to lack of funding, and in particular to cuts to programs that are designed to excite children about future educational opportunities. He said he is also concerned that many children will leave the K-12 school system without a clear direction for their future and about the impact that might have on the community.  

While I can understand his views, I am very hopeful about the future for children in Canada. Perhaps that is due to the work that I do promoting the Canada Learning Bond on behalf of Vancouver Island University. Every day I am reaching into the community with the support of organizations like SmartSAVER to let people know that the federal government has money set aside for the post-secondary aspirations of children in our communities who are most in need.  

A typical day involves coming up with fun and creative ways to get the message out. For instance, I recently invited 100 Grade 2 students from a local school to visit our university campus to play with marine touch tanks and watch a science show where they were able to “blow up” a garbage can. The goal of these activities is to excite their imagination about attending university.

I have partnered with organizations that are working tirelessly to make sure that families in our community have the supports they need. These partners are thrilled to find out that there is up to $2,000 set aside for low-income families with young children and they can’t wait to get off the phone with me and email every single one of their clients.

And then there are those really special days when I sign-up 20 children and youth living in the foster care system for Canada Learning Bonds, or help a single dad – who is working two jobs and fighting to make it all work – open up RESPs for his two daughters. On those days, I know there is hope because I hear it in their voices and I see it in their faces.

I think that hope lives in places where we might not look for it. For me, hope takes the form of the Canada Learning Bond which makes it possible for children living in low-income families to start dreaming about what they are going to be when they grow up.

Rolanda Murray,
Canada Learning Bond Coordinator,
Vancouver Island University

To find out more about what we are up to, visit viu.ca/clb

* This post was originally published on May 26, 2016.