Campaign by Story
The Mission: Equity from Day One
The Sharing in Student Success (SISS) program provides Ottawa students with the equity and confidence they deserve the moment they step into school. We are running to champion a specific moment of dignity: the first morning of the school year. Our goal is to ensure that every student walks into class with their head held high, fully equipped and on equal footing with their peers.
Meeting an Unprecedented Need
Ottawa is seeing a historic rise in the number of families seeking support for their children’s education. To meet this call for help, we are expanding our efforts to keep pace with a rapidly growing community need:
Rapid Growth: Our program has navigated a consistent 18–31% annual increase in demand.
Historic Milestones: In 2025, we reached a milestone of assisting 6,519 children in a single year.
The Impact: What Your Support Achieves
Every dollar raised through this campaign is a direct investment in a student's educational journey. We focus on removing the barriers created by the high cost of education supplies to provide three core pillars of support:
Confidence: Your support provides the tools a child needs to enter a new classroom without fear or the stigma of poverty.
Equity: We work to ensure that a student’s potential in Ottawa is never limited by the contents of their backpack.
Dignity: We provide brand-new, high-quality supplies—items that students can take pride in using as they learn.
Why we Run
My son was so excited to have a backpack that looked like everyone else’s. He didn't have to feel different on his first day, and that confidence has stayed with him all term.
As a single parent with four kids, the cost of school supplies is overwhelming. This program meant I didn't have to choose between buying binders and paying the utility bill this month.
I was worried the supplies might be 'leftovers,' but everything was brand new and high quality. My daughter was so proud to show her friends her new gear.
Without the Sharing in Student Success program, many of our families would start the year in a deficit—not just financially, but emotionally. This service bridges a gap that no other local resource covers.