To maintain the safety of our participants, volunteers, and facilitators the Further Education Society of Alberta (FESA) has had to make the difficult decision to temporarily suspend our in-person, group programs delivered at community partner agencies throughout the city. FESA’s literacy, parenting, and essential skills programs supports Calgary’s most vulnerable populations who face barriers such as low-literacy, poverty, single-parenting, recent immigration, and family violence. Social distancing is now another barrier further isolating vulnerable populations. More than ever, our participants need support and connection to help them cope during this time of uncertainty and stress.

FESA is currently adapting our program delivery methods to ensure that staff, learners, and partner agencies have the supports they need. Online program delivery is one platform we are investing in so that our learners can participate in our programs. To connect with our participants, we need laptops for participants who lack access to personal computers and laptops for staff to work remotely. Donations will be used towards the purchase of laptops which will cost approximately $500 each and setting these laptops up so our staff and learners can work remotely.

In addition, FESA is requesting donations to fund our Family Learning Kits. Each Kit contains three children’s books and crafts and supplies for family activities suitable for various age ranges. Over the years, Kits have helped families through difficult situations like family separation and divorce, violence and abuse, and poverty. Providing Family Learning Kits to families is especially critical now to help them foster positive family bonding. For vulnerable families who previously relied on borrowing books from the public library or who cannot afford books at the moment, these Kits will bring families joy through reading and playing during these stressful times.

With your support, we can ensure that our participants are not left behind because of this pandemic — that they stay connected to learning, and to each other.