In last month’s blog, we announced the Teachers Life Living Values Service Excellence Awardee from OSSTF Peel District, Karen Goodeve. This month, we are pleased to share that Megan Anderson is the Teachers Life Living Values Service Excellence Awardee recipient in the OSSTF Windsor-Essex District 9. When we approached the Essex District leaders about the award, they took a slightly different approach. They had each of their high schools nominate one candidate. There was a random draw for the winning recipient, and that draw winner was Megan from Leamington District High School. We had the pleasure of chatting with Megan about her love for teaching and what motivates her daily as a teacher. Before we dive in, we would like to acknowledge and give a shout-out to all the other incredibly talented and exceptional teachers who their schools in OSSTF Windsor-Essex also nominated. These include: Belle River District High...
In the first quarter of 2024, I had the privilege of visiting many high schools with one of our OSSTF districts. The aim was to promote our new Member Flourish+ program that we had recently co-created and launched in partnership with our OSSTF local leaders. This was an incredibly worthwhile experience on a few fronts. First, it helped us spread awareness about Flourish+. It also allowed us to connect face-to-face with Education Leaders and Teachers to better understand some of the challenges they face in their daily work. As a Life, Sickness, and Disability Insurer, we are very aware of the types of claims we see for Long Term Disability (LTD). Regardless of industry sector, mental health-related claims now account for roughly 50% of all LTD claims. Stress and burnout in the workplace are real and cost employers on many levels. The Education sector is no exception. Thankfully, companies...
This Pride Month, we wanted to celebrate and bring focus to two of our Press Start CoLab Program Grant Recipients working to bridge the gap between mental health resources and 2SLGBTQIAP+ communities in Canada. We believe it is essential to emphasize the ongoing socioeconomic barriers to accessing 2SLGBTQIAP+ mental health services and the impact of discrimination on 2SLGBTQIAP+ mental health while also highlighting the strength, resiliency and innovative work that is being done by youth changemakers to create a better tomorrow. While not generalizing the individual experiences of members of the 2SLGBTQIAP+ community, let's take a look at some recent statistics of 2SLGBTQIAP+ mental health in comparison to heterosexual Canadians, and the inspiring work being done by Press Start CoLab Program Grant Recipients, Ilya Robinson and Mabe Kyle. 2SLGBTQIAP+ Mental Health Today Although progress has been made, many 2SLGBTQIAP+ individuals in Canada continue to face violence, discrimination and isolation in...
We are thrilled to announce that the Press Start CoLab Program is back for its third year! Applications are officially open from May 6 to June 3, 2024. Our social give back program, Press Start, supports new and established youth changemakers across Canada and is one way that we honour our commitment to uplift the social innovators of tomorrow. Our key initiative, the CoLab Program, is a 10-week innovation accelerator where we support 50 social entrepreneurs, ages 18-29, from across the nation to work collaboratively and create a minimally viable solution to the Mental Health Crisis in Canada. Entering our third year of running the CoLab Program, we have supported 100 participants, including 20 grant recipients working hard to launch their innovative solutions into the market, with grant funding support. Check out our CoLab Program blog posts on our 2023 grant recipients and their project updates to learn more about...
