OSSTF/FEESO Annual Designated Charity – Kids Help Phone (2022-2023)

The Provincial Executive is continuing its support for Kids Help Phone as the OSSTF/FEESO designated charity for 2022-2023. Kids Help Phone and its parallel service Good2Talk continue to fill an important niche in advocating for and giving assistance to our students and their families.

For over thirty years, Kids Help Phone has greatly expanded its outreach as a bilingual national organization serving children and teens in need of counselling, advice and intervention. Kids Help Phone has provided direct phone and online support to over 11.9 million requests for help since January 2020, including young people living in rural and remote communities across Canada where supports are not readily available. The Kids Help Phone website also provides access to resources on a wide variety of issues including sexuality, harassment and bullying, drugs and alcohol, dating, and family relationships. Youth awareness materials are provided free of charge to schools to build awareness of Kids Help Phone services and how to access them.

Kids Help Phone is also one of four organizations working together in partnership to provide Good2Talk, a free, confidential, and anonymous helpline providing professional counselling and information and referrals for mental health, addictions, and well-being to post-secondary students aged 17-25 in Ontario, 24/7/365. As a designated charity of OSSTF/FEESO, Kids Help Phone will receive a donation of $20,000 to help sustain their work, with an additional $5,000 provided to Good2Talk. The Provincial Executive also requests that districts and bargaining units consider local support during the 2022-2023 school year through direct donations and/or by encouraging member participation in virtual fundraising activities. Supporting Kids Help Phone and Good2Talk is more important than ever as demand for their services have increased since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Donations can be made online or mailed to:

Kids Help Phone,
Ontario Regional Office 439 University Avenue,
Suite 300 Toronto,
ON M5G 1Y8
Phone (416) 581-8956

For more information, please contact Cathy Renfrew (cathy.renfrew@osstf.ca) at Provincial Office.