Up Close & Personal with Deanna Hagen, M.B.
By day, Deanna Theresa Hagen is a Constable with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. In 2013 Deanna rescued a little girl from possibly drowning in Florida, USA, and for that quick decision to save her, Deanna received the Medal of Bravery from The Governor-General of Canada.
She is also the founder iKare4Kids. While volunteering at Ronald McDonald House, she was shocked to learn of a serious barrier some families faced while they were in crisis with their sick child. Families struggled to stay current and connected with everyone involved in their sick child’s treatment and recovery because they could not afford to buy an iPad or tablet. We often take for granted the luxuries we have. For many having an iPad or tablet is a necessity.
Deanna proudly shares,
“I was inspired to create the charitable organization, iKare4Kids, to help support those in need.”
Imagine for a moment being in crisis with a critically ill child, forced to go to a strange city for long-term treatment, displaced from your home and loved ones, only with a cell phone and the clothes on your back, with limited finances.
Deanna was shocked to learn that this is exactly what happens to families. In fact, this happened to the very first family that received a gently used iPad donation from iKare4Kids in 2015. They were displaced from their rural home, now forced into a strange city, with no means of income while at their critically ill 2.5-year-old son’s hospital bedside, who was diagnosed with Leukemia, not knowing if he was going to live or not.
While volunteering at The Ronald McDonald House, this family asked Deanna if she knew anyone who had a used iPad or tablet that they could borrow because they could not keep up with the team of doctors, all the electronic medical files, treatment plans, nor could they Skype with their other children and family back home. Not to mention trying to entertain a bored young toddler in the hospital!
iPads/tablets are a luxury for many of us, but they are a NECESSITY for many parents with a sick child!
Multiple families made this request over a short period of time; hence, a gap was noticed, and iKare4Kids was born (November 2015).
iKare4Kids partnered with Ronald McDonald House Charities Northern Alberta, as it made sense since they were already supporting families in different ways in these difficult circumstances. iKare4Kids empowers families, in financial need, with critically ill or injured children, with gently used technology. iKare4Kids strives for a day to eliminate technology barriers for children and families on their difficult medical journey.
We all enjoy new technology like iPads and tablets. The dilemma is what to do with these gently used devices when you have upgraded? Send them to the landfill or let them sit and gather dust?
What if I told you we could repurpose those gently used iPads and tablets to a sick or injured child whose family cannot afford one?
How YOU Can Help
You have the means to empower these families on their difficult journey in the following ways:
Donate your gently used iPads or tablets
Encourage qualified families to apply to the iKare4Kids program
Spread the word about iKare4Kids and encourage families, friends, businesses, schools to donate their devices
Visit the iKare4Kids NEW Website for details on how to donate: www.iKare4Kids.com
You can send your pre-owned devices to these two locations or drop them off during business hours at:
Schif and the City
C/O iKare4Kids
10544 114 Street
Edmonton AB T5H 3J7
780-423-2114
Vimark Solutions
C/O iKare4Kids
17312 106 A Avenue
Edmonton, AB T5S 1E6
780-414-1557
You can also arrange a porch pick up/drop off (Edmonton and surrounding area) by emailing info@iKare4Kids.com.
Not only do we help support local Edmonton children and families, but they help support families from all across the country, as far away as Nova Scotia, that comes to Edmonton for treatment, at our world-renowned facilities such as the Stollery Children’s hospital.
Participation Requirements
A child under 18 years old
Has a serious illness, injury, and/or disability
A child receiving medical treatment and/or hospitalized in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
The family is in financial need of an electronic device
The child lives in Canada
Business as Usual for iKare4Kids During COVID 19!
During this Pandemic, many of us felt isolated, hypervigilant with staying healthy, financial strain, and in some cases, have limited access to technology. This is exactly how the families of seriously ill/injured children feel, while receiving lifesaving medical intervention/treatment. Often these families are:
isolated in the hospital and/or their homes because the child is autoimmune compromised,
finances become tight. At the same time, one or both parents take time off work (some do not have a job to go back to) because they choose to be with their very sick child
have little-to-no technology to stay connected with family/friends, do online schooling, communicating with the medical team, keep track of treatment plans, entertainment, etc.
iKare4Kids is a not-for-profit charitable organization and very proud to have had the opportunity to help families since 2015, long before COVID 19!
Volunteers Are Always Needed And Appreciated
We are growing!
iKare4Kids is in the process of becoming a Registered Charity!
Currently, there are nine volunteers on the iKare4Kids team who spend countless hours on tasks for iKare4Kids. We meet virtually bi-weekly as a team to coordinate these tasks, keep the iKare4Kids program moving, and make donations timely.
At this time, iKare4Kids is a volunteer-driven charitable organization that operates solely on the generosity of volunteers, so their overhead and administrative expenses are extremely low. This means your hard-earned donated dollars go where it was meant to be; to the children and the families who qualify for iKare4Kids Program!
They are looking for volunteer assistance to help them expand their assistance to children and families. Please visit their NEW website www.ikare4kids.com and/or view our video at http://bit.ly/2n7Ky9m for additional information.
