I Am Your Children’s Aid

Ontario’s Children’s Aid Societies’ campaign brings to life stories of the young men and women who have been in care. It also features foster and adoptive parents, caseworkers and social workers who have dedicated their lives to supporting the children in their communities. As such, the “I Am Your Children’s Aid” campaign is powerful and moving.

Featured here are just a few of the stories to be told in this campaign. It’s just the beginning, stay tuned for more compelling stories!

You are invited to tell your story – to declare “I Am Your Children’s Aid.” The goal is to inform and inspire Ontarians to get involved with the Children’s Aid Societies in their communities.

Here’s how it works: tell your story in a maximum of 200 words. Each story will be reviewed by OACAS staff and, if approved, your first name and story will appear on the UseYourVoice.ca website.

If you have concerns about a child, please contact your local Children's Aid immediately.

TV Spots

• Wendy
• Nick
• Linda
• Jennifer
• Jessica
• Chantell

Radio Spots

Print Ads

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  “I called in Children’s Aid when I was fourteen to protect my one-year-old sister from the abuse that I’d known my whole life from violent, alcoholic parents. I was seventeen when my sister was adopted. I came to the city where Children’s Aid supported me to live on my own. Now I’m in my second year of college and I work at Children’s Aid. I want to give back—for my sister’s sake and my own.”
• 
  “I came under the care of Children’s Aid at fourteen. Growing up in foster homes, I learned early that part of healing would be about giving back. After graduating from art college, and earning a degree from university, I looked for a way to contribute to others. Working with a partner, we applied to the Children’s Aid Foundation, wrote a business plan and won funding for a DJ company that would employ young men like ourselves.”
• 
  “At Christmas, our twelve kids—many of whom never knew a happy Christmas before coming here—take dinner, with all the trimmings, to the retirement home nearby. Imagine that, kids who once had nothing but pain, eager to share with others—that’s the power of Children’s Aid.”
• 
  “How do I define success? Success is when your mom dies and you’re alone at eleven and you grow up in group homes and your best friend is your Children’s Aid caseworker. Success is getting your own apartment at sixteen, winning awards in school, singing in the choir, going to college, becoming an entrepreneur, and interning at Children’s Aid. I am a success—and my mom would be proud that I’m happy.”
• 
  “I want the best for my clients. I want the best for their children; I want them to be safe and I think, if we work together, we’ll get there—together. That’s my position. We win with small victories and when we do, we make our whole community stronger.”
• 
  “I entered Air Cadets at twelve. Neglected at home, I was in Children’s Aid care at fourteen. The structure of Cadets, and the affection of my foster mom, gave me the confidence I needed to succeed. One summer at Cold Lake, I was responsible for 600 fellow Cadets. I now have a scholarship to college and I’m committed to earning a Master’s Degree.”
• 
  “Don’t tell me Children’s Aid isn’t effective! I remember a young girl who’d been with us two years when one of my sons referred to her as ‘his sister.’ She ran sobbing into the kitchen and hid under the table. I got under there with her. She felt like she’d never belonged anywhere—ever. Today, this young woman has a stack of awards and volunteers in Tanzania, Trinidad and Ghana. She’s determined to give back.”
• 
  “The kids were living in terrible conditions. Both parents were alcoholics and their basement apartment was littered with garbage, including dirty diapers. The mother declared that she didn’t want them, and the father, who said he did, stopped coming for visits. However, their foster mother loved them so much she adopted them, and now, years later, both children are happy and healthy. Seeing them now, laughing and playing, energizes me. Yes, I know why I’m doing this work.”
• 
  “At fourteen, I asked Children’s Aid to remove my brother, sister, and myself from the abusive home of my father. In foster care, we all thrived. Encouraged by my foster parents and coaches, I became a wrestler and went on to win a Gold Medal for Canada at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. In December 2008, I was invited back to Nigeria, where I was born, for a great honour—my coronation as Chief Ikuku. Ikuku means ‘air,’ as in ‘air gives life.’”
• 
  “Child abuse is like an invisible war. I know. I was abused from the time I was four until I was fourteen. Children’s Aid saved me. They gave me the support and counseling I needed so that I’d grow up to be healthy. Sure the scars are there, but trust me, the feisty and talkative kid that I once was—I am again! So, when it comes to Children’s Aid, count me in.”
• 
  “I’m an addict—four years clean—and a mother. The key to my recovery was: I got honest. I got honest with Children’s Aid, and with their help I was able to get my kids and my life back. I’ll always be grateful to them—they’re the unsung heroes of my life. I don’t sing, but I will play the drums to say, ‘Thank you.’”
• 
  “Nothing I’ve accomplished—none of it—would ever have happened had it not been for God, Children’s Aid, and the foster family who accepted me as one of their own. They will have a place in my heart, and at my table, forever.”