The “Back-to-School” period can be either exciting or a relief for a lot of us. However, it is also a stressful time for some families. It can be very difficult for many families to find the money necessary to pay for new running shoes, clothing, school fees, and school supplies. The Maison de Parents de la Matawinie Ouest has been helping these families to equip their children for school since 2001.

The Prêt à Temps (Ready on Time) program was created when the employees and volunteers of the organization became aware of the heightened distress experienced by certain parents, who felt completely discouraged and helpless when faced with the extensive lists of supplies required by their children’s schools. Some families were living in poverty. Others seemed to have reasonable revenues, but had many children to prepare for school, sometimes as many as four, five or six. Some of the lists included specific name brands that were more expensive than more generic materials, or unusual items that were not easy to find in a small town. Some lists contained impossible quantities of materials, which were apparently all required on the very first day of school.

The Maison de Parents de la Matawinie Ouest, a family resource centre covering eight rural municipalities in the northern part of the Lanaudière region, has enabled many families to send their children to school well-prepared for learning. In a nutshell, the organization collects donations of money or in-kind donations of school supplies for distribution to families in need of assistance. Over the years, many enduring partnerships have been developed to ensure the continuity of this much-appreciated service. The Maison de Parents has moved its quarters within the same building this year, and the new space is even more well-adapted for Prêt à Temps, as well as for its other activities.

The families are reached through many channels; the local CLSC, the schools and municipalities as well as other community organizations; all help to promote the Prêt à Temps program. Several generous annual donations have been secured, giving an overall budget of almost $6500. Some of the long-term partners are the Caisse Populaire de la Ouareau, the Rawdon fire department, the Marcelle and Jean Coutu Foundation, the MNA of Rousseau district, the Raymond Gaudreault Foundation and the Gaudet Group. None of the donations are used for administration, as the Maison de Parents uses its annual core funding for this. That means that every cent goes into purchasing school supplies, lunch boxes, backpacks and running shoes. The material purchased is chosen to correspond to the school supply lists of the 17 schools attended by the beneficiaries and is purchased at low retail prices (most often when it goes on sale), in bulk quantities, or received as donations.

Parents are encouraged to register directly through the Maison de Parents for this service. Appointments are made in the two to three weeks before school starts. The service is confidential; families are not asked to furnish any financial information or even their last names. The child’s first name, school attended and grade level is all that is required. The families are encouraged to go through their children’s school supply lists and determine what materials from the last school year can be re-used. For example, sometimes a binder looks old and used, but is still in good condition. Kids can then cover it or decorate it according to their personal tastes while saving their parents a few dollars. Pencils and crayons are often hardly used and can certainly serve for another year. Scissors and rulers should be able to last for a few years if taken care of. Sometimes parents find a good deal on glue sticks or loose-leaf paper, so they prefer to use the donations for other items that they may have difficulty finding at a decent price.

Depending on the exact amount of the donations received, a fixed amount per student is determined by the organization. The families then come to their appointments at the resource centre, which has been temporarily set up as a boutique. Each item is assigned a value depending on its cost, and the families are informed as to their “budget”. This way, each family can choose what is most needed rather than receiving a one-size-fits-all donation. Second-hand donations are also available, but are not included in the “budget”. If the allotted amount of supplies is not sufficient to the family’s needs, these items can help fill in the gaps.

The whole process is established with a sincere desire to empower the families rather than making them feel like poor people in need of charity. A donation jar is available for them to pay what they feel they can afford without anyone knowing how much any one individual gives. Only one appointment is scheduled at a time to ensure confidentiality ―except in the case of friends or family who come together to share transportation. In fact, if transportation is not possible for the family, the Maison de Parents will deliver their supplies to their home or to the child’s school.

After all registered families have been served, leftover supplies are donated directly to the schools. In this manner, any family who was not aware of the service or who was too shy to use it may obtain the essentials from the school itself. Schools also keep supplies on hand to provide for children who join in during the year.

While the bulk of the donations go to elementary school level students, the high school kids are not neglected. In fact, there was a slight increase in the number of families from a local high school who sought assistance from the Prêt à Temp program. According to the program coordinator, Hélène Harnois, "One of the schools on our territory innovated this year by requiring all students to wear a polo shirt as part of their dress code, thus increasing the already expensive back-to-school cost to parents. Many of these families had been able to make ends meet in the past, but by having to buy these extra shirts, they were no longer able to do so.”

Several home-schooled children also received assistance this year, and in a few cases, even parents returning to school have obtained some basic supplies. This year, about 224 students received donations directly through the Maison de Parents. About another 50 benefited from the distribution made within the schools. It is possible that more families will seek assistance during the school year as well.

Although the service only charges a voluntary contribution, it appears to have been only very rare cases where people seemed to be “taking advantage” of the service. For the most part, parents are grateful for Prêt à Temps and accept only what they really need, paying as much as they are able. Occasionally, a family who has received assistance during one school year will make a donation or offer to volunteer at a later date, when their circumstances have improved.

The organizers have noted that over the years that local schools have generally lightened the load somewhat in requesting more reasonable supplies and fewer brand names, although progress could still be made on this level. Teachers are also less likely to dip into one child’s reserved supplies (which schools almost exclusively prefer to receive at the beginning of the year and dole out gradually) to give to another child and are also more tolerant of parents who prefer to make their purchases gradually over the whole school year, according to real need. During the first few years of the project, many sensitization activities were held to inform the principals, teachers and governing boards of the financial problems many families face. Furthermore, parents have also been actively encouraged to reduce their purchases and re-use items; there is no law that says a child has to have only new supplies for the first day of school!

Overall, the Prêt à Temps project continues to be a great success as it continues to help kids start off on the right foot for the school year. In a region where all partners work very hard to improve the graduation rate, it is a concrete initiative that has a positive and immediate impact on struggling families.

The Maison de Parents de la Matawinie Ouest is located at 3615 Queen Street in Rawdon. They can be reached at (450) 834-5179 or by email at maisonparents.mo@gmail.com.
You may also find them on Facebook and at their website; www.maisonparents.org.
The coordinator and educator are able and willing to provide services in English.