Canvassers & Callers

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light a decades-long mental health crisis in Canada. Given the overwhelming demand for diagnoses, treatments and support, it’s clear that Canada can’t wait any longer to invest in mental health research and care for people experiencing mental illness. 

At CAMH, we know that mental health research saves lives. As Canada's largest mental health teaching hospital and one of the world’s leading research centres, we are leading the way to discover the research breakthroughs that can lead to faster diagnoses, more effective treatments, and shorter recovery times.  In order to meet that commitment, we must continue to mobilize Canadians to support our work through face-to-face fundraising. CAMH Foundation engages in door-to-door fundraising for two reasons: It enables us to improve public awareness of CAMH’s goal to transform the way society thinks about mental health. It also enables our monthly giving program, which provides reliable, long-term funds to CAMH. 

We are taking every precaution while fundraising, adhering to local guidelines and regulations, and the health of the public and our fundraisers is our highest priority. Please rest assured that we are assessing the situation daily and adjusting our work accordingly to protect the health of all involved.

Our fundraising partners are operating in accordance with the rules laid out by the provincial and federal governments. Our fundraising partners are tracking and monitoring the situation daily through information provided by the Public Health Agency of Canada and government of Ontario. Please rest assured that we should the situation change, we will adjust our face-to-face work accordingly to protect the health of all involved.

The health and safety of the general public and our fundraisers is very important to us. We have put the following protocols on place:

• Canvassers are equipped with personal protective equipment and sanitization materials;
• Canvassers put on a mask before knocking and maintain physical distancing;
• Personal hygiene protocols are put in place to ensure regular and thorough hand washing while at work and canvassers carry hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes;
• Canvassers must complete daily health screenings before reporting to work;
• Canvassers must sanitize tablets and other work materials at the start and end of each shift and as needed throughout shifts;
• Canvassers are not allowed to distribute any materials to new donors (e.g. thank you cards);
• Physical distancing–once canvassers knock/ring the doorbell they step back from the door and maintain a 6 ft distance during their conversation with residents; and
• We have a new touchless sign-up process. This eliminates any direct contact between the donor and canvasser–such as sharing a pen or touching a tablet–and allows the canvasser to maintain physical distance.

CAMH canvassers can be easily identified by the identification badges on their person—which can be presented upon request. They will be wearing CAMH branded items like a vest, t-shirt or lanyard. CAMH canvassers do not accept cash donations, they will collect your donation information on electronic tablets they carry.

When you decide to become a Change Agent with a Public Outreach canvasser, they will collect your information using their electronic tablet, including securely processing your donation.

GlobalFaces Fundraisers will submit your personal donor information on their tablets, then place a Third Party Verification (TPV) call to process your monthly gift. The fundraiser at your door will contact the TPV Call Centre at 1 888 914-0486 to initiate the secure process.

After becoming a Change Agent in a face-to-face interaction, you will receive an automatic confirmation email with your gift details. CAMH Foundation will send emails to thank you for your support and let you know how your generous gift is making a difference for people living with mental illness.

If you had an outstanding or problematic experience with one of our canvassers, you can share your feedback with our Donor Experience Team. They can be reached by phone at 1 800 414-0471 or email at foundation@camh.ca.