| "As you
can probably imagine, it is next to impossible for someone my age who
has no family to receive help with these kinds of things in the
community." - Melissa, 23 |
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) describes the range
of effects that can occur in children whose mother consumed a variable amount
of alcohol during pregnancy. It is a disorder that, unfortunately, is currently
on the rise in the child welfare community. For children and youth who are
already struggling, the lifelong effects that can accompany FASD often make
life even harder. Effects of the disorder can include developmental problems,
learning disabilities, attention deficits, and poor impulse control as well as
social, language, and memory deficits. These challenges can in turn lead to
anxiety, anger issues, failure in school, substance abuse and even trouble with
the law.
The rise in FASD, along with increasing rates of child
poverty, means that more children and youth supported by child welfare require
medical attention to help them deal with the challenges. Yet those who come
from low-income families, are currently involved with child welfare or are
youth who have left the foster care system, often do not have the resources to
access the services they need. This need for assistance with the costs
associated with health supports led to the establishment of the Sun Life
Financial Health & Well-Being Fund in 2005.
The Sun Life Financial Health & Well-Being Fund fills
the gap between basic government funded healthcare and the necessary health
supports that children and youth in care need but cannot afford. This can
include anything from glasses, hearing aids, asthma puffers, dental care and
orthodontia to physiotherapy, chiropractics or the varied and complex medical
needs of children with physical disabilities. In the last year alone, over 300 children and youth in communities
(such as Halifax, Kitchener-Waterloo, Toronto and Vancouver) have received
health supports that have positively impacted their lives.
Sun Life Financial has been a strong and dedicated supporter
of the Children’s Aid Foundation since 1985. Throughout our 25-year
partnership, Sun Life Financial has supported a number of our programs. In
2004, Sun Life Financial changed the focus of their philanthropic activity to
health and wellness initiatives. “We wanted to continue to work with the
Children’s Aid Foundation and continue to make a difference to the children and
youth they serve,” said Linda MacKenzie, Director of Philanthropy, Sun Life
Financial. This led to the creation of the Sun Life Financial Health &
Well-Being Fund, an area where the Foundation had seen an increased need for
support over the years.
“Most of us lucky
ones take it for granted that we’ll get all the health support that we might
need. It’s heart wrenching to hear about what some of these young people are
going through and it helps to know that we’re making a difference,” said Linda
when asked how it feels to hear about the positive impact that these funds are
having on the lives of children and youth. “Our employees love to hear details
of how this fund is positively impacting the lives of so many of the children
and youth who have been helped by the Sun Life Financial Health &
Well-Being Fund.”
Since the fund began, many individuals like one-year-old
Michael have received vital treatments that they otherwise would not have
access to. Michael was born with a skull deformation that affected his jaw
function. Doctors recommended craniosacral massage therapy, which Michael
received through the Sun Life Health & Well-Being Fund. The therapy has
been so successful that jaw surgery will no longer be necessary. Similarly,
Melissa, a 23-year-old former youth in care, was able to have an emergency root
canal with the help of the Sun Life Financial Health & Well-Being Fund. In
her words, “It is a good feeling to know that there are kind individuals out
there that are helpful even to people they don’t know. As you can probably imagine, it is next to
impossible for someone my age who has no family to receive help with these
kinds of things. Thanks for being so thoughtful and kind by allowing me to see
a dentist when I was in pain.”
Sun Life Financial has been helping the Children’s Aid
Foundation positively change the lives of abused, neglected and at risk
children and youth for 25 years and we look forward to helping even more with
the Sun Life Financial Health & Well-Being Fund.
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