(Ottawa, ON) November 9, 2021 – The Legacy of Hope Foundation (LHF) would like to acknowledge the generous donation from Kyle Pitman’s 8th Grade Class and the Aylesbury Public School of the Peel District School Board in Brampton, Ontario. This is an important contribution for the LHF and will help to produce more resources that educate Canadians on the impacts of abuse from the Residential Schools on generations of Indigenous Peoples.

Aylesbury Public School is an elementary-middle school located in Brampton, Ontario. Kyle Pitman is a grade 8 teacher at this school and his class generously organized a fundraiser to donate the money to the Legacy of Hope Foundation. Curriculum and educational resource development from Kindergarten to Grade 12 is a large part of the mandate for the LHF, and this donation on behalf of a school, is confirmation that the reach of the organization is spreading.

“The youth across this land are coming together in allyship -their hearts and voices are filled with the spirit of action and of Reconciliation. One such example, is the Grade 8 students at Aylesbury Public School in Brampton, ON. When they heard the news of the 215 unmarked graves at Kamloops Indian Residential School, they felt compelled to stand up and do something. Their creativity and drive led them to organizing a fundraiser at their school, to raise money for the work of the LHF. We continue to be impressed and inspired by the youth. To feel their support, reminds us that we all have a crucial role to play in the shared path of Reconciliation. Reconciling relationships, reconciling history and notions of the past, and reconciling the need to actively engage in the fight against injustices. The work we do at the LHF is to promote healing and raise awareness around the Residential School System and its subsequent impacts. Through education, we can learn to do better, and this is what Mr. Pitman’s Grade 8 students have reminded us.” said Teresa Edwards, Executive Director and In-House Legal Counsel at the LHF.

The LHF is a national, indigenous-led, charitable organization that has been working to promote healing and Reconciliation in Canada for over 21 years. The LHF’s goal is to educate and raise awareness about the history and existing intergenerational impacts of the Residential and Day School Systems and subsequent Sixties Scoop on Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis) Survivors, their descendants, and their communities to promote hope and healing in Canada. The LHF works to encourage people to address discrimination and injustice in order to contribute to the equity, dignity, and respectful treatment of Indigenous Peoples and to foster Reconciliation.

The LHF has more than 25 educational exhibitions that promote awareness of Indigenous history that are free to borrow and is working on making exhibitions available online. LHF also has curriculum for K-12 and for adults, along with Activity Guides, Workshops and Training, and podcasts, all aimed at educating Canadians about Indigenous history and the shared history of Residential and Day Schools, the Sixties Scoop, etc. The LHF works to develop empathy and understanding so as to eliminate racism against Indigenous Peoples.