Privacy policy

The Huddle for Families (“we” or “us”) is committed to protecting the privacy of our clients, employees, donors, volunteers, and other members of our community. We value the trust you place in us by sharing your stories, details, donations, services, and questions, and we strive to be open and accountable in our treatment of the information we gather and receive. 

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your personal information, The Huddle for Families is guided by the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). We also commit to following Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL). This Privacy Policy is current as of the “last revised” date at the top of this page. It applies to The Huddle for Families and to any person providing services on our behalf. 

“Personal information” means information about an identifiable individual. This includes an adult or child’s name, home address and phone number, age, gender, family members, family structure, background, diagnoses, educational history, and more. 

Here is how we handle your personal information in accordance with PIPEDA’s fair information principles:

Accountability

The Huddle for Families takes responsibility for the information we collect, use, and disclose. We have a Privacy Officer who oversees our privacy practices, ensures we comply with all applicable privacy laws and regulations in Canada, and acts as the primary contact for questions about our privacy and security. You can contact our Privacy Officer at thehuddleforfamilies+privacy@gmail.com.

Identifying Purposes

The information you share with The Huddle for Families is important to our work. We clearly explain why we are collecting your personal information and how we will use it before or at the time of collection. These purposes include:

  • Enrolling you in requested programs

  • Providing and personalizing services

  • Processing payments and donations

  • Managing our operations and administering services

  • Improving our services

  • Other uses as permitted or required by law

We only use your information for the purposes we've identified, unless we obtain your consent for another use. 


Consent

The Huddle for Families is committed to obtaining meaningful, fully informed consent before collecting, using, or disclosing personal information, except as permitted or required by law. This means we make sure you understand how your information will be used and agree when or before we ask you to provide it. Consent may be given orally, electronically, or in writing, or it may be implied or given to us through a third-party acting on our behalf. The Huddle for Families may not be able to provide certain services if you are unwilling to provide consent. We assume your consent to continue to use and disclose personal information we have already collected for the purpose for which it was collected. You may withdraw consent at any time by sending a request, though this may affect our ability to continue providing services.


Limiting Collection

The Huddle for Families limits the collection of personal information to what is necessary for the purposes identified. This means we only ask you for the information we need for that specific purpose. It also means we limit access to information to the people at The Huddle for Families who actually need it. 

We collect information by fair and lawful means online, through the mail, via telephone or video call, and in person. Please see our Cookies Policy to understand what information we collect automatically when you visit us online and how you can control that information.


Limited Use, Disclosure and Retention of Personal Information

The Huddle for Families may keep a record of Personal Information, correspondence or comments in a file specific to an individual. We will use, disclose or keep this Personal Information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which the information was collected and as permitted or required by law.

Personal information will not be used or disclosed for purposes other than those for which it was collected, except with the consent of the person or as required by law. The Huddle for Families does not trade, rent or sell your personal information to third parties. Where we work with third-party providers (such as website support or data management), we have contract agreements that include appropriate privacy standards. 

Online payments and donations made on our website are processed through secure third parties. The personal and credit card information provided on the online donation or payment form is used only to process the donation. The security and privacy policy and cookies policy of these third parties are available by clicking on the “Privacy Policy” and “Cookies Policy” link on their websites.


Accuracy

We will ensure that personal information is kept as accurate, complete, and up to date as possible. We will not routinely update personal information, unless necessary. If you would like to change any information you have provided, please contact us. 


Safeguards

We take appropriate security measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use, modification, or destruction. This means we use several tools for keeping your information safe and private. These include:

  • Privacy, Confidentiality, and Data Security Policies

  • Internal information safety practices and protocols

  • Privacy clauses in contracts with third parties, and

  • Technological safeguards to avoid unauthorized access to your digital information.


Openness

The Huddle for Families is committed to transparency around our privacy policies and procedures. This Privacy Policy is available on our website at thehuddleforfamilies.org. You may also request a copy by contacting the Privacy Officer, who can also answer any questions you have.


Individual Access

You have the right to review any personal information that we have collected, used, or disclosed about you. You may access this through a written request to the Privacy Officer. We will try to respond to your written request no later than thirty (30) days after we receive it.

We may ask you to provide sufficient identification to permit access to the existence, use or disclosure of your Personal Information. Any such identifying information shall be used only for this purpose.


Challenging compliance

The Huddle for Families takes your concerns seriously. Please contact our Privacy Officer at thehuddleforfamilies+privacy@gmail.com to address a challenge concerning our compliance with these policies.


Thank you for placing your trust in The Huddle for Families. We are dedicated to protecting your privacy and safeguarding that trust. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns.