NON-PROFITS
AIM (Ability in Me) The AIM (Ability in Me) program is a provincial non-profit, charitable organization located in Saskatoon offering specialized therapy and innovative programs that support individuals between 0 and 22 years of age with Down syndrome and their families. Changes in routine are difficult for many AIM learners; therefore, when the pandemic hit with such an abrupt disruption to everyone’s life, it was devasting. The AIM office was closed on March 18th and staff continue to provide services remotely. The team created a pandemic plan that incorporated transforming the delivery model to online in a week’s time. This also included purchasing cyber insurance with a big learning curve around cyber security features to consider and put in place. The team has been resourceful and creative in engaging the children online. Families can access online individual speech and literacy sessions, music group programs for the early years, and speech and occupational therapy group programs for teens and young adults. School teams can also observe these sessions virtually.
The team has so far created over 1000 individualized online interactive activities to engage the learners during sessions; 121 videos have been posted on AIM’s YouTube station with a total of 1105 views. Virtual services have allowed out-of-town families to access their child’s programming more frequently. Weekly speech sessions being accessed has increased by 144% and literacy sessions by 110%. The team and families are missing the inperson connection and we cannot wait till it is safe for us to move back to in person. At the same time, we have had some great
learnings and will carry over some of the online services we offer now. This has been a truly unprecedented year for all non-profits and I am grateful for the continued support in these very difficult times. We value our partnerships with parents, government, schools, healthcare, professionals, community members and businesses. Not only did we have to look at changing our delivery for our program we also had to look at how to move online for our fundraising. www.aimprogram.ca
Global Gathering Place For 22 years, Global Gathering Place (GGP) has been a bridge connecting refugees and immigrants with the Saskatoon community. We help clients improve their English, make social connections, navigate practical matters, and build key skills for life and work in Canada. Until last March, clients could drop in for settlement support or join one of our many in-person programs. When the pandemic hit, we pivoted overnight to mainly online programming while continuing to connect one-on-one with the most vulnerable and isolated clients. We are proud that the pandemic has neither reduced the quality nor scope of our programs and services and we continue to be a lifeline to our clients. Recognizing this sprint has become a marathon, we continue to focus on the mental health and wellbeing of clients. We closely monitor and regularly check in with isolated clients, organize grocery and medication drop-offs, and provide tablets so clients can stay engaged with our agency and their own learning. We offer several programs focused on well-being and have cautiously and
safely re-introduced some in-person group programming. Going forward, we will continue diversifying the ways newcomers engage with
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us and strengthening our relationships with local organizations. www.globalgatheringplace.com
