We know that the pandemic disrupted every aspect of life, education included. We also know that virtual is part of the new normal with just about everything. What we didn’t know until recently was how the shift to virtual learning is impacting students from racialized and underserved communities, students with disabilities and those who have limited access to technology.
As part of the 2021 TD Ready Challenge, TD Bank Group has distributed a total of CAD $10 million grants to nonprofits working to address predicted learning loss as a result of school closures and the shift to virtual learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
With its 2021 TD Ready Challenge grant, TD is helping minimize the predicted learning loss and the impact on disproportionately affected Canadian students from grades K-12. Nine Canadian organizations made the cut including names like BGC Canada and. Being true Ontarians as we are, we want to give a shout out to Ontario-based Strong Start.
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The organization received a grant of CAD $1 million for their Letter, Sounds and Words program that aims to develop literacy skills among children between ages 5-9. The grant will be used to help 9,000 students.
“We know young children are struggling coming out of the pandemic and TD’s support means that Strong Start can reach even more of them at a critical time in their development. With funding in hand, Strong Start has already added 15 more school partners this spring and vigorous planning for rapid expansion this fall,” said Strong Start.
For anyone not in the know, this isn’t the first time TD has supported communities through the TD Ready Challenge. Established in 2018, it has since provided CDN $40 million in funding to 50 organizations across its North American footprint to support scalable solutions identified to be in harmony with the four drivers of The TD Ready Commitment, the Bank’s global corporate citizenship platform: Financial Security, Vibrant Planet, Connected Communities and Better Health
