Assistance and therapy dogs for children with disabilities in Victoria and a WA independent school that facilitates learning for children with hearing loss and speech delays are among the winners of the Canon 2020 Grants Program.
“Every year we’re inspired by the breadth of organisations looking to make a positive impact on society and this is especially true in what has been a tougher year than most for everyone,” Canon managing director, Dave Yoshida said.
The Dogs for Kids with Disabilities raises and trains assistance and therapy dogs for children whose everyday activities are restricted by emotional, physical and intellectual challenges. The grant will provide equipment to create videos that drive awareness of Dogs for Kids’ work among the wider community.
“As we face some of the toughest economic conditions to date, educating the community and attracting new sponsors is vital to our viability,” founder and program manager Katie Hunter said. “Canon’s grant will not only enable us to capture important footage, it will provide much needed funds to promote the videos to targeted audiences across social media. We’re pleased that we can continue connecting with our community through the love of assistance dogs, during what has been a tough lockdown period.”
Telethon Speech and Hearing is an independent school offering quality diagnostic, therapy and support services for children with hearing loss and speech and language delays. The grant will provide a camera as part of a ‘mobile pack’ to facilitate these tele-therapy sessions, ensuring children with hearing loss have access to specialised teachers for ongoing learning, regardless of their location.
CEO, Mark Fitzpatrick, said, “Covid-19 restrictions mean that many students can no longer participate in face-to-face and group therapies. The Canon grant will enable us to support families from regional and remote Western Australia through our tele-therapy program, ensuring distance is not a barrier for these children to access quality supports to aid in their early years of development”.
For the first time, Australian winners will receive an equal donation of cash and equipment – $2,500 each – to support causes trying to rebuild themselves in a weaker economy. The previous split was $1,000 in cash and $4,000 in products.