The Ontario Catholic Trustees’ Association has launched a new campaign that’s generating conversation and better awareness about Catholic schools in Ontario.

Last November, OCSTA launched the Together in Faith campaign. Led by OCSTA Director of Communications Sharon McMillan, the campaign set out to help diffuse opposition and to promote good news stories.

All three major parties have stated their support publicly, but we never like to become complacent,” says McMillan. “We wanted to take an opportunity to refresh our awareness campaign, and we looked at the current environment and opposition to Catholic education, and we wanted to raise the profile of the truly tremendous achievements happening in Catholic schools.”

The Together in Faith website has published stories showcasing good news and success stories featuring the people within the Catholic school hallways.

“There are great stories about teachers, students, communities and graduates – really fantastic things – that are happening in Catholic schools boards that people really need to know about,” explains McMillan. “We have Catholic school ratepayers who want to know what’s happening in Catholic schools. They need to know what’s going on.”

Read more: OCSTA’s Awareness Campaign Getting Widespread Attention

To help end the stigma around mental health and illness, Bell has successfully run the annual #BellLetsTalk campaign in which the company donates $0.05 to mental health initiatives for every text and tweet that uses the hashtag on January 25.

And Catholic schools and students got on board to support the initiative, including CCSTA President Marino Gazzola’s great niece.

A graduate from St. James Catholic High School in Guelph, Ontario, Brittany Gazzola took her support a step further last year. On her Twitter account, she stated that she’d donate 25 cents every time her own tweet was re-tweeted. And the response was huge. After the day-long campaign, The Mohawk College student ended up donating $320 to the campaign. That means her tweet was re-tweeted more than 1,200 times. Bell would have also donated their contribution on top of what Brittany had promised.

Brittany’s story was featured by the Mohawk College student news crew. You can watch her video here:

https://vimeo.com/153858288

This year, Brittany teamed up with her dad, and together they raised another $200.

Read more: How Catholic students Embraced the #BellLetsTalk Initiative

A faith-based professional development workshop once launched in the 1970s has transformed into a widely popular annual conference that welcomes attendees from across the country.

The Canadian Forum on Theology and Education is set to take place from March 31 to April 1, 2017 in Oakville, Ontario. Last year, more than 450 people attended the conference, and it’s expected to bring in large numbers again this year.

CCSTA chatted with organizer, John Quinn, who gave us a history lesson behind the forum as well as what it offers to its participants today.

Read more: A Q&A with the Canadian Forum on Theology and Education Coordinator