Privacy Policy

Effective Date: January 1, 2025

Introduction

Helping Minds ("we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting the privacy of all individuals who interact with our organization, including the children, youth, and families we serve. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website (www.helpingminds.ca) or participate in our programs and services.

Information We Collect

We may collect the following types of information:

• Personal Information: Name, email address, phone number, and other contact details you provide when filling out forms, signing up for newsletters, or contacting us.
• Donation Information: When you make a donation, we may collect billing information. Payment processing is handled by secure third-party services, and we do not store credit card numbers on our servers.
• Volunteer Information: If you apply to volunteer, we may collect additional details such as your availability, skills, and background check information as required.
• Usage Data: We automatically collect certain information when you visit our website, including your IP address, browser type, pages visited, and time spent on pages.

How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Provide, maintain, and improve our programs and services
• Process donations and issue tax receipts
• Communicate with you about our programs, events, and opportunities
• Respond to your inquiries and requests
• Manage volunteer applications and coordination
• Analyze website usage to improve user experience
• Comply with legal obligations

Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Our website uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your browsing experience. Cookies are small data files stored on your device that help us understand how you use our site.

We use the following types of cookies:

• Essential Cookies: Required for the website to function properly.
• Analytics Cookies: Help us understand how visitors interact with our website so we can improve it.

You can control cookie preferences through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect some website functionality.

Third-Party Services

We may use third-party services for website analytics, payment processing, and email communications. These services may collect information as described in their own privacy policies. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party services you interact with through our site.

Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Children's Privacy

As an organization that serves youth and children, we take children's privacy especially seriously. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 without parental or guardian consent. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information without your consent, please contact us immediately so we can take appropriate action.

For youth participants in our programs, we collect only the information necessary to provide our services and always with the knowledge and consent of a parent or guardian.

Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you
• Request correction of inaccurate information
• Request deletion of your personal information, subject to legal requirements
• Opt out of marketing communications at any time
• Withdraw consent for data processing where applicable

Data Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law. Donation records are retained as required by Canadian tax regulations.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated effective date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal information, please contact us:

• Email: contact@helpingminds.ca
• Website: www.helpingminds.ca