Access fund aids children's groups

Last year was a great one for the Access Communications Children's fund - and for the 33 Saskatchewan-based community groups and projects that benefitted from the fund. All told, the Fund provided $140,000 to help children at risk or in need in 2011 - a 35 per cent increase over 2010.

"At Access, we believe that it's not enough to be in a community - we want to be part of it," Access Communications President and CEO Jim Deane said. "The Children's Fund gives us an opportunity to give back to the people and places that make us what we are."

"Creating a safe, comfortable place for children to just be children is a vital aspect of our ongoing expansion and renovation project," Regina Transition House Executive Director Maria Hendrika said. "The grant provided to Transition House by the Access Children's Fund goes a long way to achieving this important goal.

The fund contributes funds and support to youth-based not-for-profit organizations and charities that are based within the communities served by Access Communications Co-operative. Funding is provided to successful applicants that assist children in the following four categories:

Health and Well-Being: a focus on programs which address the mental and physical well-being of children in need and children with diverse abilities;

Education and Literacy: programs that help improve educational performance;

Poverty: initiatives that create pathways out of poverty and provide for the relief of poverty and suffering of children and youth; and

Crime Prevention: initiatives that discourage youth crime.

The fund is fuelled by its weekly TV Bingo, which airs in 70 Access communities throughout Saskatchewan. Since the Bingo launched in 2006, more than $530,000 has been granted.

"Each of the organizations we assist reflects the principle idea on which the Children's Fund was founded: When Kids need a hand, we're here to help," Fund Chair Doug Alexander said. "We're delighted to be a part of these worthwhile efforts."

More information about the Access Communications Children's Fund, including a list of recent recipients, can be found at www.myaccess.ca under In The Community - Children's Fund.