Fifth year of Give Love Feel Good campaign focuses on digital divide

Saint John, NB: Give Love Feel Good, a local do-good campaign in Saint John, is back for its fifth year, with a focus on closing the digital divide for our young people. 

“The digital divide speaks to the growing distance between those who have digital literacy and connectivity, and those who do not,” says Katie Bowden, President of Duke Creative Collective, the sponsor agency behind Give Love Feel Good. “COVID-19 has highlighted that gap, especially for school children, who may be asked to learn online while in lockdown, and for those in high school who attend class in a virtual environment every second day.”

The digital divide is an issue that is coming to prominence in communities around the world. It is a phenomenon that gets more severe in areas with low quality/outdated Internet infrastructure, or remote areas with no connectivity at all – but it can also be severe in areas with excellent connectivity, but a lack of financial resources to take advantage of it.

This year’s campaign partners are The Feel Good Store and Emera New Brunswick.

“We’re so pleased to welcome Emera New Brunswick to the campaign,” says Bowden. “The digital divide has been on their radar for some time, and before Christmas they donated $15,000 to Hazen White-St. Francis school, so they could purchase iPads for use in their classrooms.”

The school, which is located in a community that struggles with child poverty and educational achievement, now has iPads for approximately 40 of their 155 students.

“Access to devices like these at a young age will position these students for much-improved digital literacy going forward,” says Rob Belliveau, General Manager of Emera New Brunswick. “As a community we can come together to fill this gap, and we’d like to challenge other businesses to step up to the plate and donate what they can to this cause. Future generations’ capacity for innovation and workforce participation depends on it. 

There are two ways to get involved (in a socially-distant manner) in this year’s campaign:

• IPADS IN SCHOOLS: Make a tax-deductible donation by cheque to the Government of New Brunswick’s Department of Finance, indicating the name of the school to which you’d like to direct the funds, and the purpose: for the purchase of iPads for in-school use.

• IPADS IN COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS: Make an online purchase of a new or refurbished iPad at the store of your choice, and have it shipped to one of the five neighbourhood organizations listed below, so children and families without devices can still get online.

As always, Anne at The Feel Good Store has created a Give Love Feel Good Valentine’s basket that will be awarded to a lucky participant or business. To enter, please email a photo or screen capture of your cheque or receipt with private information redacted to taylor@thisisduke.com. The draw will be made on Friday, February 26.

“Saint John’s priority neighbourhoods and the schools that serve them are struggling with the digital divide,” says Bowden. “More and more these days, the tasks of daily life – paying bills, applying for jobs, keeping in touch with friends and family – require access to the devices required to get online. This is a barrier we can overcome.”

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CONTACTS

Donations to schools, with tax receipt from the Department of Finance

• Make your cheque out to: Minister of Finance

• Include in the note area: School Name, and purpose (for the purchase of iPads)  

• Elementary schools in the Saint John area include: Saint John the Baptist/King Edward, Seaside Park Elementary, Hazen White/St. Francis, Prince Charles, Princess Elizabeth, Glen Falls, and Centennial.

• Mail to: 
  ASD – South
  Attn: Zoe Watson 
  490 Woodward Ave
  Saint John NB 
  E2K 5N3

Donations to neighbourhood organizations

The ONE Change 
C.E. Nick Nicolle Community Centre
85 Durham St., Saint John, NB  E2K 1V6
Contact: Tamara Kelly
(506) 658-2980

People United in the Lower South End
251 Wentworth St., Saint John, NB  E2L 0B7
Contact: Mary LeSage
(506) 632-6807

Crescent Valley Resource Centre
130 MacLaren Blvd., Saint John, NB  E2K 3G3
Contact: Anne Driscoll
(506) 693-8513

Carleton Community Centre
120 Market Place, Saint John NB  E2M 0E1
Contact: Dustin LeClerc
(506) 658-2920

Waterloo Village Neighbourhood Association
139 Prince Edward St., Saint John NB  E2L 3S3
Contact: Penni Eisenhauer
(506) 648-0202

 About the Give Love Feel Good campaign:
Give Love Feel Good is an annual charitable campaign organized by Duke Creative Collective in partnership with The Feel Good Store and other businesses in Saint John, New Brunswick.

The campaign changes from year to year, but consistently taps into the idea that doing something small for someone else can have a big positive impact. Past campaigns have asked Saint Johners to recognize people or organizations working to make Saint John a better place; encouraged Saint Johners to send a Valentine message to the newcomers in the YMCA’s English language classes; collected mitten donations for the Romero House; and collected children’s books to build the home libraries of kids attending priority neighbourhood elementary schools.