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Ontario Tech acknowledges the lands and people of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation.

We are thankful to be welcome on these lands in friendship. The lands we are situated on are covered by the Williams Treaties and are the traditional territory of the Mississaugas, a branch of the greater Anishinaabeg Nation, including Algonquin, Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatomi. These lands remain home to many Indigenous nations and peoples.

We acknowledge this land out of respect for the Indigenous nations who have cared for Turtle Island, also called North America, from before the arrival of settler peoples until this day. Most importantly, we acknowledge that the history of these lands has been tainted by poor treatment and a lack of friendship with the First Nations who call them home.

This history is something we are all affected by because we are all treaty people in Canada. We all have a shared history to reflect on, and each of us is affected by this history in different ways. Our past defines our present, but if we move forward as friends and allies, then it does not have to define our future.

Learn more about Indigenous Education and Cultural Services

Phone It Forward

A pile of old phonesDo you have an old smartphone taking up space on a shelf or in a junk draw?

Your gently used smartphone can provide life-changing freedom, independence and safety to Canadians with sight loss.

Ontario Tech is proud to participate in the CNIB Foundation program, Phone it Forward. 

Gently used smartphones can be dropped off at an Ontario Tech Library circulation desk to help the CNIB revolutionize the daily life for people with sight loss.

  • Complete the donation agreement form and bring it with you to donate your phone. The Library will have printed copies available.
  • Bring your used smartphone and signed donation agreement to a circulation desk employee during Library operating hours at the north or downtown Oshawa campus location.
  • Receive a tax receipt from CNIB after they have collected the phones and assessed their value.

All individuals coming to the university campus must complete the mandatory daily COVID-19 screening questionnaire.

Note: The Library will keep all donated phones in a secure area until CNIB collects them.

Learn more about the Phone it Forward program

Phone it Forward is a new CNIB Foundation program that provides smartphones to Canadians with sight loss. Donations of modern smartphones are used to fuel this transformational program.

Secure data wiping for all donated phones will be completed using ADISA Standards certified erasure software. Phones are then refurbished and CNIB loads the devices with accessible apps and provides between 10 to 15 hours of one-on-one user training to participants in the program.

Smartphones can provide life-changing freedom, independence, and safety to Canadians with sight loss.

Modern smartphones allow users to:

  • Access emergency assistance from sighted volunteers.
  • Read prescription labels and take medication safely.
  • Recognize the faces of loved ones.
  • Travel safely alone using GPS.
  • Use built-in voice-over technology, which reads aloud everything that appears on a phone’s screen.

Why is Phone it Forward so important?

Canadians with sight loss have an unemployment rate that is three times the national average. Recent studies show that only 28 per cent of Canadians with sight loss have a full-time job. High unemployment rates make it very difficult for Canadians with sight loss to afford and access a smartphone.

While mobile ownership is increasing among Canadians with sight loss, there is still a significant access gap, with almost half saying they own neither a smartphone nor a tablet. Smartphones are critical tools that revolutionize daily life for people with sight loss, as they:

  • Help people stay connected, reducing isolation and loneliness.
  • Increase the knowledge and skills needed to utilize technology.
  • Promote literacy amongst people with sight loss (e.g. digital literacy, financial literacy, accessible books, etc.).
  • Provide a portable, all-in-one communication solution (e.g. built-in magnification and voice over/screen readers, accessible GPS apps, colour ID apps, barcode reader apps, etc.).
  • Provide essential tools for success in school and employment for youth and working-age adults.

CNIB logo

Disclaimer:

Only personal phones can be donated to this program.

Ontario Tech issued phones cannot be donated to the CNIB Phone it Forward program. All staff/faculty-issued phones must be returned to IT if you are no longer using it.