The Regent Park Children’s Foundation was founded in 1997 to address concerns that students’ educational needs were not being met. 

Our current partner schools are Bruce Public School in Leslieville, Lord Dufferin Junior and Senior Public School in Regent Park, Nelson Mandela Park Public School in Regent Park, and Rose Avenue Junior Public School in St. James Town. At these schools, there is limited fundraising by parent teacher associations. 

The principal initiatives of the foundation are the art therapy programs, which allows troubled students to express their feelings through visual art. These students are selected to participate by each school’s IST (In-school Support Team) and generally participate for multiple years. The foundation currently employs three registered art therapists that work in our partner schools.

Complementing the art therapy program is a play therapy program, which enables younger students to express their feelings through a natural medium of expression.

Through the foundation’s grant program, it has also been able to sponsor camping experiences, computer labs, class iPads, gymnasium score boards, sound systems, lunch tables, and outdoor educational experiences.

Looking to the future, we hope to find more partner schools that need our help, as well as finding more programs that enrich students’ overall educational experiences. We are also committed to investing further in the art and play therapy programs, which have proven to be very successful in helping underprivileged children deal with their complex emotions.

Contact Kim Bouchard, the treasurer, for more information at kim@kilcoo.com.