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Shania opened a SKC Clubhouse in Calgary today.

Shania opens a Shania Kids Can Clubhouse in Calgary, Alberta, Canada (7/7/14)

ET Canada @ETCanada

@ShaniaTwain poses with kids @shaniakidscan in Calgary #tunein tomorrow for our interview with the country star!

4:32 PM ET - 7 Jul 14

http://twitter.com/ETCanada

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Video | Shania Twain visits Calgary school, prepares for Stampede shows

'Shania Kids Can' inspired by her childhood troubles

CBC News Posted: July 07, 2014

Country music star Shania Twain is in Calgary to perform at the Stampede and to launch a local “clubhouse” of her children’s foundation.

• Watch CBC weather specialist Craig Larkins' raw interview with Shania Twain. Click HERE.

Twain describes Shania Kids Can as a program that inspires and educates children who are having personal problems, some of which she experienced in her childhood.

"Maybe coming to school with no lunch, going to school with dirty hair or ill fitting clothes, maybe not the proper clothes for winter," she said. 

“It really just weighed on my self-confidence and made me feel very insecure, and I just thought one day I will help kids like me so they never have to experience this terrible feeling.”

She visited the Calgary “clubhouse” at Catherine Nichols Gunn School on Tuesday, days ahead of her Stampede show dates on July 9 and 10.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/shania-twain-visits-calgary-school-prepares-for-stampede-shows-1.2699286

Country superstar Shania Twain unveils program for Calgary students

By Tamara Elliott | July 7, 2014 | Global News

CALGARY- School may be out for the summer, but some Calgary kids headed back to the classroom on Monday to meet a country music superstar.

Shania Twain is in town ahead of two Calgary Stampede concerts later this week, and took the chance to kick off a new program at Catherine Nichols Gunn School. Through her non-profit organization Shania Kids Can which helps at-risk children, a clubhouse will be built at the school, complete with extra-curricular activities, nutritional and therapeutic programs.

“I was going to school and I didn’t look forward to it, because it was a place where I was humiliated, and I knew I had to make up some sort of story about why I didn’t have a lunch or why I didn’t have clean clothes,” Twain shared, of her difficult childhood. “Our heating had been turned off and we couldn’t shower or bathe.”

The clubhouse will help 20 students once school starts up again, and mother Trina Burkhardt hopes it gives her daughter Brennalyn a big boost.

“She’s just very shy, and it’s just very hard to get by sometimes. I mean, my husband’s hours have been cut for a while, now we’re getting back on our feet,” Burkhardt says. “It’s great to have a new opportunity for her to do things that I would never be able to do for her.”

Twain, who just so happens to be the best-selling female country artist of all time, welcomes the opportunity to help.

“I don’t know how to run a school, but I do know what it is to be in their shoes. So this is my way of giving back.”

Click Link Below For Video

http://globalnews.ca/news/1437488/country-superstar-shania-twain-unveils-program-for-calgary-students/

Here is an article about the SKC Clubhouse in Calgary from Shania Kids Can.

Shania Twain and The Dilawri Foundation Launch the First Shania Kids Can Clubhouse in Calgary

CALGARY (July 7, 2014) – Shania Twain, the world’s best-selling female country artist of all time, together with The Dilawri Foundation and the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) kicked off the first ever Calgary Shania Kids Can (SKC) Clubhouse at Catherine Nichols Gunn School today.

The SKC is Shania’s non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of at-risk children in communities across the world. The program, founded as a response to the difficulties Shania endured as a youth, is designed to implement simple, yet effective, initiatives to increase the potential of students in the program to live successful, fulfilling lives.

“I’m so excited that the students of Catherine Nichols Gunn School will have the opportunity to utilize the new SKC Clubhouse,” says Shania Twain. “All children deserve a safe and supportive environment where they have the opportunity to learn, grow, and develop into successful individuals. I hope this clubhouse is that space for them.”

The SKC Clubhouse at Catherine Nichols Gunn School was made possible through a partnership between the SKC and The Dilawri Foundation. “We are honoured to share with Shania Kids Can a commitment to provide our children with opportunities to achieve to the best of their ability,” says Kap Dilawri, Co-Founder of The Dilawri Group of Companies. “The need for this program is nation-wide and we want to help expand the reach of this life-altering program to students across Canada.”

The SKC Clubhouse at Catherine Nichols Gunn School is a brightly decorated room which is supplied with rich academic, nutritional, therapeutic, and extra-curricular activities for students in the program.

“We were delighted when the SKC Foundation approached the CBE to partner together to make this happen,” says Cathy Faber, superintendent of Learning Innovation for the CBE. “While there is a large academic component to school, we recognize the need for students to be supported socially and emotionally to succeed academically. The SKC program will help provide that support through the funding of a program coordinator who will be a caring and consistent adult in these students’ lives.”

The Dilawri Foundation and Shania Kids Can have united in a common goal to give back to Canadian communities by developing programs throughout Canada launching in Calgary, Toronto, Regina, and Vancouver.

About Shania Kids Can

The Shania Kids Can Foundation educates, inspires, and empowers children in communities to achieve their full potential while increasing their chances of equality and opportunities for success. Through this vision, the Shania Kids Can Foundation provides children who are at risk of losing their opportunity to be the best they can be because they are suffering from poverty, disregard, abuse, or an overall dysfunctional family lifestyle with the chance to overcome the effects that these challenges may be having on their ability to function at an optimum level during the school day. www.shaniakidscan.com

About The Dilawri Foundation

For more than two decades, the Dilawri Family has shown a deep commitment in supporting communities across Canada. With donations in the $ millions, the generosity of the family has touched thousands of lives, and continues to leave a lasting impression. In 2002, Founders Tony, Kap and Ajay Dilawri established The Dilawri Foundation to oversee the family’s philanthropic activities. Through targeted philanthropy, The Dilawri Foundation continues to make a positive difference in the health care, medical research and family services world. http://dilawrifoundation.ca/

http://www.shaniakidscan.com/news/shania-twain-and-the-dilawri-foundation-launch-the-first-shania-kids-can-clubhouse-in-calgary/

Izy Twain wrote:

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I wonder how the after party went on july 9 any pics i havent been able to find any ?. 

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Oh, the party after the Calgary Stampede July 9 concert? Yeah I haven't seen any either. Maybe it was cancelled because nobody bought $1700 tickets. LOL!!! 

And on the Shania Kids Can Facebook page was posted that they raised over $30K.

Shania Twain launches a program to help struggling school children in Canada and the United States

HELLO! Canada | July 10, 2014

Shania Twain had a difficult childhood and she’s starting a crusade so no child gets left behind.

On Monday (July 7), Shania launched her charitable organization, Shania Kids Can (SKC), which will offer aid to children who struggle in poor families that may not require social services to intervene.

The 48-year-old singer has previously talked about going without food and clean clothes as a child, often taking to forging doctor notes to avoid going to school embarrassed. Shania's hope is to ensure that what happened to her doesn’t happen to anyone else.

The children chosen to participate in the program will gain access to a clubhouse where they will receive food and academic assistance.

Of the program’s targeted audience, Shania tells The Calgary Herald, “I do know what it is to be in their shoes.”

The “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” singer added, “When I was a kid, I didn’t look forward to school. It was a place where I was humiliated. I was often very uncomfortable to be at school – if I’d gone to school without a lunch, or why I didn’t have clean clothes.”

The charity already supports 300 children in Canada and the United States, thanks in part to support from Calgary’s Board of Education and the Dilawri Foundation.

In the months to come, the program will launch in Toronto, Regina and Vancouver, and schools looking to participate within these regions can apply to receive a $100,000 budget for supplies, equipment and salaries.

Shania will perform tonight in Calgary at the Saddledome for the Calgary Stampede.

http://ca.hellomagazine.com/music/0201407108453/shania-twain-launches-a-program-to-help-struggling-school-children-in-canada-and-the-united-states

Shania Twain gives Ardglen community something to sing about

By Roger Belgrave | Brampton Guardian | September 19, 2014

BRAMPTON— Top-selling Canadian songstress Shania Twain was a big hit Friday in a Brampton community that has had little to sing about recently.

Twain, one of the biggest country music stars to come out of Canada and enjoy enormous international success, visited the Ardglen Drive community to announce a $400,000 partnership with the Dilawri Foundation that is launching a clubhouse program for students at Sir Winston Churchill Public School.

It is the first Shania Kids Can Clubhouse in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is part of a collaboration with the Dilawri group that will amount to $1.6 million over the next five years, and see several clubhouses established at schools in the GTA, Calgary, Regina and Vancouver.

The partnership between the Shania Kids Can Foundation, the Dilawri Foundation and Peel District School Board will provide underprivileged and disadvantaged kids with a wide-ranging in-school support system.

This is about more than academics, said Peel Board Chair Janet McDougald as she thanked Twain and Kap Dilawri for a generous financial commitment that will help “level the playing field” for students at the school.

“Some do need more than others in order to be successful,” McDougald said at a news conference to officially open the clubhouse. “We are so deeply grateful.”

Twain established the foundation and clubhouse program to deliver the kind of support she so desperately needed as a child growing up under difficult circumstances.

The 49-year-old was raised in Timmins in what was, at times, an impoverished upbringing.

She would often come to school hungry and without a lunch. Her family didn’t have the means to dress her in the newest clothes and latest fashion or pay for the extracurricular activities her classmates often enjoyed.

It was the kind of experience that can chip away at a child’s self-esteem and certainly extinguish enthusiasm for school and an education.

As an adult, Twain revealed she would go to school concerned about being ridiculed and anxious about making up excuses to explain why she couldn’t take part in something as simple as Hot Dog Day.

She made a childhood pledge that someday she would help kids cope with those kinds of challenges and reach their full potential. The multi-award winning music artist, whose albums have sold millions of copies worldwide, created the Shania Kids Can Charity Foundation to fulfil that promise.

Shania Kids Can, with financial support from the Dilawri Foundation – which advocates and raises funds to help support medical research, hospitals, children and their families – are working together to establish clubhouses in Canada.

“I’m just so honoured to be a part of your very special school and a part of me will stay with you,” Twain told students and staff assembled in the gymnasium for what was a surprise visit from the music star.

The charity repurposes and furnishes designated school space and hires a qualified behavioural teaching assistant to provide a haven where students can find a host of daily academic, nutritional, therapeutic and extracurricular supports.

Dilawri, whose family operates 49 car dealerships across the country, including Frost GM in Brampton, was very aware of the local school’s history when reviewing its funding application.

The Brampton school, in this Kennedy Road and Clarence Street neighbourhood that is home to many low-income families, has seen more than its share of tragedy.

This past June, a fire in one of the townhouse complexes on Ardglen Drive left 18 families homeless and took the life of 10-year-old Nicolas Gabriel.

In January 2013, another student at the school, nine-year-old Kesean Williams, was killed as he sat playing video games with his brother in their Ardglen Drive home. A bullet pierced the living room window and struck the child in the head.

Police said they believe the home was targeted but have not figured out who the intended victim was or made any arrests in the ongoing investigation.

“We do business in Brampton and we like to give back to the communities we do business in,” he said, adding the Ardglen community certainly needed the support and the moral boost.

Principal Kristin Bergan said 20 students have been selected to be a part of the club, but many more in the school would benefit from the resources and support it provides.

Schools interested in applying for a clubhouse can visit www.shaniakidscan.com.

http://www.bramptonguardian.com/news-story/4870987-shania-twain-gives-ardglen-community-something-to-sing-about/

Shania Twain opens clubhouse for at-risk youth in Brampton

By Caroline Alphonso - EDUCATION REPORTER | The Globe and Mail | September 19, 2014

Canadian country singer Shania Twain did not like attending school. She often went to school hungry and did not have weather-appropriate clothing.

“I felt left out and inferior,” she told a group of children on Friday at Sir Winston Churchill Public School in Brampton, Ont.

Ms. Twain was at the school to open a clubhouse that will provide at-risk students with nutrition programs, tutoring, psychological support and extracurricular activities.

“I wanted the program to exist when I was your age,” she said.

The school will receive $100,000 a year over four years to help 20 kids every year. The program is funded by the Shania Kids Can Charity Foundation and the Dilawri Foundation.

The two charities launched a similar program in Calgary earlier this year. Two more, in Vancouver and Regina, are in the planning stages.

Ms. Twain described her difficult childhood to the elementary school students, many of whom listened attentively even though they acknowledged they had not heard of the celebrity singer and songwriter.

“I made a vow to myself when I was a child … if I ever made it, I would some day help kids like me,” she said in an interview with The Globe and Mail. “Every time I come to a program, either to revisit it or to open one, I’m looking at a lot of me’s in there.”

“What I’m hoping for them,” she added, “is that they learn through the program the coping skills and the learning skills to fulfill the burden and demand placed on them to be as functional as they can be.”

The children were selected based on academic need, behavioural issues, and their socioeconomic circumstances. Sir Winston Churchill is deemed one of the Peel District School Board’s most at-risk schools, and it has suffered tough times recently.

One of its students, 10-year-old Nicolas Gabriel, died when a fire broke out in June at a Brampton housing unit. He was in Grade 4.

Principal Kristin Bergen said she hopes the program will inspire children, and help them with their schooling.

“It’s such a support for the school, both for those 20 students, but also for the wider school community,” she said.

One 10-year-old girl who was selected to be part of the program said she is hoping her time in the clubhouse will give her confidence and help her do better in math.

Gavin Anderson, 11, plans to ask for help in language studies. “Also, I just want to have fun,” he added.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/shania-twain-opens-clubhouse-for-at-risk-youth-in-brampton/article20711847/

Shania Twain helps Brampton kids at risk — and says she can relate

Not having the right clothes or quite enough money left her “insecure and inadequate,” says star.

By Louise Brown GTA, Education Schools, Fri Sep 19 2014

Beloved Canadian superstar Shania Twain surprised children at a Brampton school Friday by launching a new $400,000 enrichment program for kids at risk — and telling them she knows how it feels to need help.

“I did not look forward to primary school, maybe because I sometimes was wearing rubber boots in winter and I was cold, or my mother didn’t have enough money for groceries and I didn’t have lunch — I was often hungry all day,” the singer told 20 children at Sir Winston Churchill Public School who will receive free tutoring, healthy snacks, recreational programs and life skills coaching through the new Shania Kids Can Clubhouse program at the school. It is the first such program Twain has opened in the GTA.

“I used to feel insecure and inadequate because I wasn’t prepared for the school day — maybe I didn’t have money to participate in a field trip or sometimes I didn’t have the right clothing — so I’d love to eliminate that experience for any child,” said the multimillionaire who grew up poor in Timmins, Ont.

The program, a partnership between Twain’s charitable foundation, the Dilawri Foundation and the Peel District School Board, will provide $100,000 a year for four years to the school, which has been rocked by two recent tragedies. Student Nicolas Gabriel, 10, died in a townhouse fire in June and Grade 4 student Kesean Williams was shot in his home in January 2013.

“With what our school community has experienced in the last couple of years, this visit today is more than a great … chance to meet Shania Twain; it is also a fresh start for us,” said Principal Kristin Bergen; “a boost of morale and a sense of momentum as we move into a new school year.”

Peel school board chair Janet McDougald thanked Twain “because what you have given is not just money — it is success. It is confidence. It is hope. If a student comes to school hungry, it is hard to be hopeful. If a student does not have school supplies it is hard to feel confident. If a student needs extra support and the family can’t affords it, well, it is hard to be successful.”

Click Link Below For Video!

http://www.thestar.com/yourtoronto/education/2014/09/19/shania_twain_helps_brampton_kids_at_risk_and_says_she_can_related.html

Watermarked pics from opening of SKC Clubhouse in Brampton, Ontario on Sep. 19, 2014.

More pics from opening of SKC Clubhouse in Brampton, Ontario on Sep. 19, 2014.

 

Taking a moment to read the wonderful letters written by the kids at Tom Williams Elementary during the opening of the program (10/21/13). These letters are always inspiring. Let's all work together to help kids reach their goals.

9:36 AM ET - 14 Jan 15

http://www.facebook.com/shaniakidscan

Shania Kids Can just posted the HELLO! Canada article from October 6, 2014.

TransformationTuesday: On January 20, 2014 Shania Kids Can had programs operating in Timmins, ON; Huntsville, ON; and Las Vegas, NV.

On January 20, 2015 Shania Kids Can has programs operating in Timmins, ON; Huntsville, ON; Las Vegas, NV; Calgary, AB; and Brampton, ON; with programs scheduled to open in Regina, SK and Vancouver, BC.

We would like to thank our friends at The Dilawri Foundation for working with us to make these new openings possible.

Read more about our opening in Brampton, ON from our friends at HELLO! Canada Magazine: http://bit.ly/SKCHello1014

9:00 AM ET - 20 Jan 15

http://www.facebook.com/shaniakidscan

Here are the scans. To view full-size and read the article:

1. Click on a thumbnail picture. This will now take you to the picture inside the Photobucket console.

2. Place cursor over picture and a grey tool bar will appear in upper right.

3. Click the magnifying glass and the full-size picture will appear.

Shania Twain in Surrey to launch new school 'club house'

Canadian singer to be at Guildford-area elementary school Monday (June 8) as part of Shania Kids Can Foundation event

By Tom Zillich / Surrey Now | June 4, 2015 09:09 PM

SURREY — Canadian pop-country queen Shania Twain will be at a Surrey elementary school next week to officially launch her foundation's latest "club house." 

Between concert dates in Vancouver, Twain will make an appearance Monday (June 8) at Hjorth Road Elementary on 104th Avenue, according to a media advisory. 

The event will involve Shania Kids Can Foundation, The Dilawri Foundation and Surrey Board of Education "as they officially launch Western Canada’s first Shania Kids Can program."

"Shania Twain will interact with students, tour the new clubhouse and share stories about why she started the Kids Can Foundation," according to the advisory. 

The Shania Kids Can Foundation's vision is to "provide children who are at risk of losing their opportunity to be the best they can be, because they are suffering from poverty, disregard, abuse or an overall dysfunctional family lifestyle, the chance to overcome the effects that these challenges may be having on their ability to function at an optimum level during the school day," according to the organization's website. 

"We build, furnish and hire support staff to run the new program," the website says. "We hire qualified staff, furnish the designated program space (referred to as the SKC Clubhouse), procure food and nutrition supplies as well as recreational equipment and office supplies for the new program."

Twain brings her "Rock This Country" tour to Vancouver's Rogers Arena on Sunday and Tuesday (June 7 and 9).

http://www.thenownewspaper.com/shania-twain-in-surrey-to-launch-new-school-club-house-1.1958747

Shania opens Shania Kids Can Clubhouse at Hjorth Road Elementary School in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada (6/8/15)

Shania Twain launches Kids Can campaign in Surrey

By Julia Foy | Global News | June 8, 2015

Some serious star power showed up at a Surrey elementary school today to shine the spotlight on a children’s charity.

Canadian country-pop star Shania Twain, who is a multi Juno and Grammy award winner, came to Hjorth Elementary School in Surrey to open her latest clubhouse called Shania Kids Can.

“If I’d had this program when I was a kid, who knows where I’d be right now,” Twain laughed.

“In saying that there’s a lot of irony there, I was just one of the lucky ones. I just made it by chance. Regardless of how much talent you have, you need support.”

Twain says she lived through many tough times as a child and promised if she became successful when she grew up that she would try to give back to society.

Hjorth Elementary is the first school in B.C. chosen to house the Shania Kids Can Club and it is the sixth program Twain has opened in North America.

The support staff at the clubhouse will offer everything from nutritious food, to life skills training to help with homework.

It is the kind of support Twain says she often needed when she was growing up in Timmins, Ontario.

“I changed schools 17 times during my childhood, for various reasons. Either we had to leave the town because we couldn’t pay the bills and we had to just move or my dad had to get a new job… for various reasons, we moved around a lot.”

Now the only moving Twain does is on her terms as she travels the world for concerts. On Tuesday night she will perform at Vancouver Rogers Arena.

http://globalnews.ca/news/2043455/shania-twain-launches-kids-can-campaign-in-surrey/

Shania Twain and Dilawri Foundation help level the playing field for Surrey kids

By Charlie Smith | June 8, 2015

Shania Twain has sold zillions of albums, but the pride of Timmins hasn't lost her passion for the little people.

Today, the woman born Eilleen Regina Edwards was at Hjorth Road elementary school in Surrey to launch Western Canada's first Shania Kids Can program.

It's being done in partnership with the Surrey school district and the Dilawri Foundation, which was founded by the family that owns Canada's largest automotive group.

Shania Kids Can and the Dilawri Foundation have been working together for four years to help underprivileged children in Canada receive academic, therapeutic, and nutritional support to help them excel.

Twain herself certainly wasn't born with a silver spoon. As a child in a hardscrabble mining town in northern Ontario, she was desperately poor. But she still managed to start writing songs at the age of 10.

Her mom and stepfather died in a car accident in 1987, which meant Twain had to look after her three siblings while in her very early 20s.

Along the way, she even worked the counter at McDonald's.

http://www.straight.com/blogra/466561/shania-twain-and-dilawri-foundation-help-level-playing-field-surrey-kids

Still the one – to remember growing up underprivileged

by Boaz Joseph - Surrey North Delta Leader | June 8, 2015 at 4:00 PM

Never the Twain shall meet?

Hardly that, for 18 Hjorth Road Elementary students on Monday.

Country super-star Shania Twain visited the North Surrey school to open Western Canada's first Shania Kids Can program to help less fortunate inner-city kids.

The Ontario native and winner of five Grammy Awards, who is currently on tour, told the Grades 1-5 students that she didn't have it easy growing up in Ontario.

"I changed schools 17 times in my childhood."

Her parents sometimes couldn't pay rent, or had to move for new jobs.

"I was one of the lucky ones," Twain said of her rags-to-riches musical career.

Asked by eight-year-old Zoe about how she became a "famous singer," Twain replied she first had to become a singer – starting with learning how to play guitar at age eight. By age 10, she was writing songs.

"Most of the time, while all of the other kids were outside playing, I was in my room playing with my guitar. My guitar was like my toy."

Twain told the Hjorth Road kids that her family was so poor they often ran out of soap and shampoo, making it hard for her to socialize.

Shania Kids Can will provide Hjorth Road's poorest students with school supplies, food and recreation equipment at a clubhouse that will be set up at the school.

Students will have access to counselling, academic support and personal skills development, including musical instruments.

Basic supplies can change a child's whole day, helping them integrate, socialize, become more confident and concentrate on their studies, said Twain.

"This is what this program is set up to do: To stop these kids from falling through the cracks. It's based on what I needed at various times in my childhood."

Twain has already run five Shania Kids Can programs in Canada, two funded by herself.

Surrey's Shania Kids Can is partnered with The Dilawri Foundation and the Surrey Board of Education.

Board of Education Chair Shawn Wilson said that some students don't have the same resources and privileges as others, potentially putting them behind.

"Our board has always made it a priority of doing all we can to ensure that all students in our district have every chance to realize their potential," he said.

Shania Kids Can will operate at Hjorth Road Elementary for five years.

"I think the program will speak for itself as we go," said Twain.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/news/306646081.html

Shania Twain is rocking this country but hasn’t forgotten Brampton elementary school

By Roger Belgrave | Brampton Guardian | June 27, 2015

BRAMPTON— It’s been nine months since Shania Twain visited Brampton to launch her Shania Kids Can Clubhouse at a local elementary school, but the music star hasn’t forgotten the students in the Ardglen Drive community.

The multi-platinum selling recording artist’s Rock This Country tour made a two-night stop at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto this week and she arranged to have students from Sir Winston Churchill Public School drop in for a backstage look at the massive concert production before Thursday night’s performance.

“We haven’t done this before,” said Tracy Hautanen, operations manager for Shania Kids Can.

The program was established at the Peel District School Board school last September. It was the first time a club had been launched in a Greater Toronto Area (GTA) school.

A partnership between Twain’s charity and the Dilawri Foundation has committed $400,000 over four years to provide underprivileged, disadvantaged or at-risk kids with a wide range of in-school supports.

The clubhouse program creates the kind of support system Twain needed, but never had during what was, at times, an impoverished childhood in Timmins, Ontario.

She created the Shania Kids Can Charity Foundation to help children cope with social and developmental obstacles that can be a hindrance to reaching their full potential.

“She likes them to go on different field trips and learn about different professions,” Hautanen said of the behind-the-scenes excursion for about 15 kids in the program.

The stadium visit with technicians and workers behind the massive mobile sound and light show may have been lost on some of the sometimes difficult to corral Grade 1-6 students. But part of the Kids Can program’s goal is expanding the worldview of students whose perspective may be limited by their social circumstance and exposing them to experiences they might not otherwise have a chance to enjoy.

The Kennedy Road and Clarence Street area school is in a neighbourhood that is home to many low-income families. A room in the school was repurposed to create the clubhouse, where 20 students chosen to be a part of the program can find academic, nutritional, social and extracurricular supports.

A behavioural teaching assistant (BTA) is employed to deliver much of the program, which has turned out to be transformational for the entire school in its inaugural year.

“You would think that the impact would just be on the 20 students that are key students enrolled in the club,” said Principal Kristin Bergen. “But it has really been a boost to the positive school climate that we’re building at the school, across the school.”

Every school in the board is assigned a BTA to support students. The Shania Kids Can Club has added a second assistant to Sir Winston Churchill and allowed the school to stretch existing resources to help more kids.

“There’s two people consistently working as a team across the school,” said Bergen, who added this also frees up teachers to work more closely with more students.

The program also has a social worker. So the regular social worker assigned to the school is able to support kids through the program as well as through the usual referrals.

Danielle Duguay, a Grade 3 student in the program, said it’s been fun, but it has also taught her how to get along with friends and others.

Kids in the clubhouse, selected based on a list of program criteria, have become a tight-knit group who support each other outside of the program, noted Bergen.

“Really there are some blossoming student leaders in the program that need a nudge to feel like they’re confident enough to do all that they’re capable of doing,” she explained.

http://www.bramptonguardian.com/news-story/5699118-shania-twain-is-rocking-this-country-but-hasn-t-forgotten-brampton-elementary-school/

Shania Twain gives back to Regina kids

By Sarah Kraus | Global News | October 17, 2015

REGINA – Shania Twain is scheduled to play her first of two concerts in the Queen City Sunday, but she came a day early to help put smiles on children’s faces.

A group of 20 students from Judge Bryant School have been taking advantage of the Shania Kids Can program since the start of the school year.

On Saturday, they got a chance to meet their idol in real life and ask her questions about her own childhood.

Each student was selected for a very specific reason, according to the education director for Regina Public Schools, Greg Enion.

“We’re trying to select students that could use some assistance with self esteem, helping them work on future pathways and develop relationships,” he said.

The Kids Can Clubhouse, open before, during and after school is designed to empower children in grades 1-6.

To do that, special guests are brought in to speak about career choices, healthy snacks are available throughout the day and children can pick up healthy snacks if they’re feeling hungry. That’s not all.

“Field trips will be something that we’re going on. A lot of these kids don’t have the opportunity to go on a field trip,” said program leader Tiffany Kearse.

There’s also going to be a lot of volunteering at seniors homes or charities.

“Even though these kids may not have a lot, paying it forward, giving it back is so important,” stressed Kearse.

Since the Clubhouse opened in September, the results are evident.

Grade 4 student Nathaniel Heese was keen to share his experience, “I feel confident to say things to other people.”

His classmate Rakia Kaiswauto is also benefiting from Shania Kids Can.

“I’ve been playing with other kids and making new friends,” she explained.

“Having this place that they can call their own and say that they belong to is such a source of pride and confidence for them,” said Kearse.

Shania developed Kids Can based on her personal experience with poverty.

“That dream developed out of my childhood, my own needs and my wish for things to be different for myself and my own family. I promised myself, one day I will change things for people like me and my family,” the singer said.

She brought an extra surprise for the children, inviting them all to her concert.

“I think this is the best day of my life, that I saw her,” gushed Kaiswauto, “because we always listen to her songs.”

“Meeting kids, seeing their faces, I relate,” said Shania. “It’s bringing it full circle for me and it’s very healing.”

Click Link Below For Video!

http://globalnews.ca/news/2283321/shania-twain-gives-back-to-regina-kids/

Shania Twain and The Dilawri Foundation launch Shania Kids Can Clubhouse in Regina

REGINA, Oct. 17, 2015 /CNW/ - Kids at risk in the Regina area will have a new source of hope thanks to an initiative driven by Shania Twain's Shania Kids Can Foundation and The Dilawri Foundation. The two charities, along with Regina Public Schools, today announced the launch of a Shania Kids Can (SKC) Clubhouse at Judge Bryant Elementary School. Both Twain and The Dilawri Foundation co-founder, Ajay Dilawri, were on hand for the announcement.

"The Dilawri Foundation is proud to continue our partnership with Shania Kids Can. All across Canada, our partnership with SKC has helped us pursue our mandate to make a difference in health and family services. Today, we are especially pleased to contribute to an SKC Clubhouse in Regina, where we have a longstanding history. As evident by the clubhouses launched with the support of The Dilawri Foundation, we are confident that this project will do great work to assist at-risk children in Regina," said Ajay Dilawri.

Twain, who achieved her own success after overcoming an underprivileged background, founded her charity to improve the lives of at-risk children across Canada. "I'm thrilled to be opening another chapter of Shania Kids Can in Regina today. It is humbling to know that we are bringing opportunities to students who live with the most challenging of adversities," said Twain. 

The SKC clubhouses confront adversities such as poverty, abuse or dysfunctional lifestyles by offering a range of academic, nutrition and recreational resources. Their goal is to ensure that every child has an equal opportunity to succeed. Many SKC Clubhouses in Canada are made possible through significant donations from The Dilawri Foundation.

Regina's SKC clubhouse will be located at Judge Bryant School in the Glencairn neighbourhood.

"We are very pleased that the students of Judge Bryant will have access to the additional supports made possible by the SKC Clubhouse, " said Greg Enion, Director of Education, Regina Public Schools. "Creating equity and giving every student the best possible opportunity to succeed is a great pathway for helping our young people develop into responsible, young adults who will contribute to their communities."

SKC Clubhouses, in partnership with The Dilawri Foundation, are located across Canada in Calgary, Toronto, Regina and Vancouver. Schools interested in applying for a SKC Clubhouse can visit www.shaniakidscan.com.

Twitter: @DilawriFndation, @shaniakidscan, @RegPublicSchool
Facebook: The Dilawri Foundation
Instagram: The Dilawri Foundation 

About The Dilawri Foundation

For more than two decades, the Dilawri Family has shown a deep commitment in supporting communities across Canada. With donations in the tens of millions, the generosity of the family has touched thousands of lives, and continues to leave a lasting impression.

In 2002, Founders Tony, Kap and Ajay Dilawri established The Dilawri Foundation to oversee the family's philanthropic activities. Through targeted philanthropy, The Dilawri Foundation continues to make a positive difference in the health care, medical research and family services world. http://dilawrifoundation.ca/

About Shania Kids Can

The Shania Kids Can Foundation educates, inspires, and empowers children in communities to achieve their full potential while increasing their chances of equality and opportunities for success. Through this vision, the Shania Kids Can Foundation provides children who are at risk of losing their opportunity to be the best they can be because they are suffering from poverty, disregard, abuse, or an overall dysfunctional family lifestyle with the chance to overcome the effects that these challenges may be having on their ability to function at an optimum level during the school day. www.shaniakidscan.com

About Regina Public Schools

Regina Public Schools is one of the largest school divisions in Saskatchewan, serving the educational needs of more than 21,000 students in 41 public elementary schools, eight public high schools and three faith-based, associate schools. For more information, visit: www.rbe.sk.ca 

SOURCE The Dilawri Foundation

http://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/shania-twain-and-the-dilawri-foundation-launch-shania-kids-can-clubhouse-in-regina-533686481.html

Shania Twain launches clubhouse for at-risk children in Regina

Music superstar in Regina as part of concert tour

CBC News | October 17, 2015 8:21 PM CT

Music superstar Shania Twain is giving back to the community by lending her support to a new program in Regina's schools, called the Shania Kids Can Clubhouse.

Twain is in Regina for two shows at the Brandt Centre, Sunday night and Monday night.

She also made time to support her charity, Shania Kids Can.

Twain paid a visit to Judge Bryant Elementary school to open up a clubhouse that provides nutritious food and life skills training.

Twain also surprised the youngsters at the school by inviting them to her show.

"You're all invited to the show and I look forward to seeing you all there," she said.

Twain is touring for the first time in eleven years. She is one of the best-selling recording artists of all time.

Click Link Below For Video!

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/shania-twain-launches-clubhouse-for-at-risk-children-in-regina-1.3276569