National survey reveals key insights from parents; Canada’s Back to School destination announces amazing deals on Back to School essentials
Richmond Hill, ON, July 11, 2024 – Today, Staples Canada launches its Back to School campaign, equipping teachers, parents, and students with the best gear and incredible savings for the season. Canada’s Back to School destination has also done its homework: the brand has unveiled the 2024 Staples Back to School Study revealing findings from parents across the country and their expectations with this year’s Back to School experience.
“As a consumer-centric business, it’s paramount we understand customer needs, and that’s exactly what we’ve done this year and what’s fuelled our Back to School program,” said Rachel Huckle, CEO, Staples Canada. “Our goal is to make sure Canadians feel supported with the right tools, resources and savings to get everything they need to start the school year off on the right foot. Our teams, stores and site are ready to provide easy browsing and seamless solutions, with hundreds of new and notable products available at great prices – all in one place.”
As Canada’s Back to School destination, Staples is here to set parents and students up for success ahead of the return to class with the 2024 Staples Back to School Study. The survey asked parents their thoughts, feelings and attitudes on the upcoming school year to discover how Canadians can feel better equipped for the season.
Notable Findings:
· Most Back to School shopping will happen in-store: half of parents plan to do most/all of their shopping in-store and almost all (88 per cent) say at least half their shopping will be done in-store, signaling the importance of the brick-and-mortar experience to parents this year.
· Parents are looking to accomplish their back to school quickly and efficiently, rather than making it a family moment: 88 per cent agree they want to do it quickly and efficiently and 70 per cent agree it usually ends up being a chore.
· Canadians will hunt for savings on tech as it tops affordability challenges: 59 per cent of parents report tech among the top three biggest affordability challenges, placing a greater emphasis on deal seeking, promotions and financing options for this category.
· Parents’ comfort with their kids using AI for schoolwork more than doubles if it has been specifically reviewed and approved by their school: This number doubles for parents with kids aged 13 to 17 compared to comfort with no supervision at all and triples for parents with kids aged 6 to 12.
· Some parents feel well-informed about AI tools, while others admit there’s room to learn: Roughly one third report feeling well-informed, another third report knowing little to nothing and the rest fall in the middle.
Based on the insights uncovered in the study, Staples Canada announces an exciting line-up of Back to School offerings designed to meet the needs of parents, students and teachers alike.
Back to School Savings Made Easy
Staples is committed to making Back to School savings easy for parents, teachers, and students with deals that will get everyone excited. Introducing Red Dot Savings, a weekly deals program on top school essentials, available both in-store and online. Customers can also enjoy peace of mind with Staples’ price match guarantee, ensuring you always get the best deal at Staples, and financing options with Flexiti.
New AI-Enabled Tech Products, Solutions and Expert Advice
Staples has introduced new innovative tech products that are AI enabled and ready – so you can stay ahead of the curve. Everything from laptops, tablets to smartphones and more from top brands including Microsoft, Google, Apple, Samsung, and Lenovo. New to AI enabled tech? Staples has you covered with their team of specially trained tech experts to share knowledge and provide advice on the best tech and AI capabilities tailored to your individual needs.
Protect your technology with Staples Protection Plans by Allstate, available for a variety of electronics like smartphones, computers, tablets, and headphones to cover mechanical and electrical failures, as well as accidental damage.
In need of a new phone plan or internet upgrade for Back to School? Customers can discover the best phone, internet and TV solutions from Bell, Virgin Plus and Lucky Mobile at Staples stores across Canada. Whether you’re heading off to university, changing schools or addresses – Staples has the best selection of wireless plans for post-secondary students to help them power their new devices.
Great Product Assortment with Exclusive Brand, Pep Rally
A Staples exclusive, Pep Rally introduces its latest line of fun and functional Back to School essentials, featuring three new collections to help students express themselves, including: Retro Love, Classic Academia, and Joyful Expression. Shop all of Pep Rally’s school supplies and solutions.
Great Tools for Parents and Teachers
· Staples Print Services: Staples Print Services has everything you need to start the school year off on the right foot, including customizable labels, quick print services, dynamic workbooks and wide format printing.
· School Tools: Looking to find dedicated lists of everything your child needs for class? With Staples’ School Tools, parents can shop for supplies based on lists curated by teachers for their child’s grade and region. Staples’ School Tools also offers special discounts, including 10 per cent off orders over $50.
Innovative In-Store Experience
This year, Staples Canada partnered with GeekSpeak Commerce to create the ‘Backpack Challenge’; a unique Augmented Reality (AR) experience tailored to children aged 6 to 11 to make Back to School shopping fun for kids and easy for parents. The in-store game, played on mobile devices, transforms Staples stores into an interactive playground. Kids are given the chance to embark on a digital adventure, with different quests to locate and collect hidden animals and add them to their virtual backpack. Parents and kids can access the game during their Back to School shopping trips, keep an eye out for QR code signage in store to join in on the fun.
Celebrate Back to School “Feels” with Staples
Staples has partnered with real Canadian creators – parents, teachers and students from coast-to-coast – to star in its Back to School ad campaign this year. The creative campaign celebrates all the Back to School “feels”, with amazing deals and Back to School savings that are so good, you won’t be able to contain your emotions.
About the 2024 Staples Back to School Study
These are the findings of a study/survey conducted by Staples Canada from June 25 to 28, 2024 among a representative sample of 1,008 parents with kids aged 6 to 17 within Canada. Respondents are members of Angus Reid Forum. The survey was conducted in English and French. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points for parents, 19 times out of 20.
About Staples Canada
Staples Canada is The Working and Learning Company. We are a privately-owned company committed to helping parents, teachers, businesses, and entrepreneurs work smarter, learn more and grow every day. Our network includes 298 stores across Canada and staples.ca, printing and shipping services at Staples Print, and Staples Studio co-working spaces. To service the unique needs of businesses, we also have a number of dedicated B2B brands that support business customers of all sizes, which include Staples Preferred,Staples Professional, Supreme Office Supplies and Furniture, Denis Office Supplies, Monarch Office Supply Inc. and Beatties. Headquartered in Richmond Hill, Ontario, we are committed to the communities we serve across Canada, and are a proud partner of MAP through our Even The Odds fundraising and awareness initiative that aims to eliminate critical gaps in health equity. Visit staples.ca for more information or engage with @StaplesCanada on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, or TikTok.
Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio is making a difference, 4,175 kilometres away from home.
The 32-year-old Canadian international midfielder, whose parents hail from Colombia, has been working with the Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization, a charity whose goal is to help disadvantaged youth in the South American country.
Osorio has worked behind the scenes, with no fanfare.
Until now, with his benevolence resulting in becoming Toronto FC’s nominee for the Audi Goals Drive Progress Impact Award, which honours an MLS player “who showed outstanding dedication to charitable efforts and serving the community” during the 2024 season.”
Other nominees include Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter and CF Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.
The winner will be announced in late November.
The Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization (CCCO) is run entirely by volunteers like Monica Figueredo and Claudia Soler. Founded in 1991, it received charitable status in 2005.
The charity currently has four projects on the go: two in Medellin and one each in Armenia and Barranquilla.
They include a school, a home for young girls whose parents are addicted to drugs, after-school and weekend programs for children in a disadvantaged neighbourhood, and nutrition and education help for underprivileged youth.
The organization heard about Osorio and was put in contact with him via an intermediary, which led to a lunch meeting. Osorio did his due diligence and soon got back to the charity with his decision.
“It was something that I wanted to be a part of right away,” said Osorio, whose lone regret is that he didn’t get involved sooner.
“I’m fortunate now that to help more now that I could have back then,” he added. “The timing actually worked out for everybody. For the last three years I have donated to their cause and we’ve built a couple of (football) fields in different cities over there in the schools.”
His father visited one of the sites in Armenia close to his hometown.
“He said it was amazing, the kids, how grateful they are to be able to play on any pitch, really,” said Osorio. “But to be playing on a new pitch, they’re just so grateful and so humble.
“It really makes it worth it being part of this organization.”
The collaboration has also made Osorio take stock.
“We’re very fortunate here in Canada, I think, for the most part. Kids get to go to school and have a roof over their head and things like that. In Colombia, it’s not really the same case. My father and his family grew up in tough conditions, so giving back is like giving back to my father.”
Osorio’s help has been a godsend to the charity.
“We were so surprised with how willing he was,” said Soler.
The TFC skipper has helped pay for a football field in Armenia as well as an ambitious sports complex under construction in Barranquilla.
“It’s been great for them,” Figueredo said of the pitch in Armenia. “Because when they go to school, now they have a proper place to train.”
Osorio has also sent videos encouraging the kids to stay active — as well as shipping soccer balls and signed jerseys their way.
“They know more about Jonathan than the other players in Colombia,” Figueredo said. “That’s the funny part. Even though he’s far away, they’ve connected with him.”
“They feel that they have a future, that they can do more,” she added. “Seeing that was really, really great.”
The kids also followed Osorio through the 2022 World Cup and this summer’s Copa America.
Back home, Osorio has also attended the charity’s annual golf tournament, helping raise funds.
A Toronto native, he has long donated four tickets for every TFC home game to the Hospital for Sick Children.
Vancouver’s Berhalter was nominated for his involvement in the Whitecaps’ partnership with B.C. Children’s Hospital while Montreal’s Sirois was chosen for his work with the Montreal Impact Foundation.
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Follow @NeilMDavidson on X platform, formerly known as Twitter
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
TORONTO – The Toronto Raptors kick off the 2024-25 season on Wednesday night when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers at Scotiabank Arena. Here are five things to know ahead of the Raptors’ home opener:
THREE DECADES — It’s the Raptors’ 30th anniversary and the team has plans to celebrate all season, including bringing back their purple jerseys from the mid-1990s. Toronto will also be honouring former players, including Hall of Famer Vince Carter. He’ll be the first-ever player to have his Raptors jersey retired in a ceremony at Scotiabank Arena on Nov. 2.
DEPTH CHART — The Raptors lacked depth to start last season with essentially one player coming off the bench — shooting guard Gary Trent Jr. — with then-rookie swingman Gradey Dick sometimes rotating in too. That short bench was evident with a -4.4 net rating over the season, tied with the San Antonio Spurs for third-worst in the NBA. Net rating is an advanced stat that indicates how much better or worse a team performs on a per-possession basis.
However, a series of trades and four draft picks remade the roster and greatly improved Toronto’s depth.
Point guard Davion Mitchell, power forward Ochai Agbaji and centre Chris Boucher of Montreal will lead the reserves to start the season. All three have serious NBA experience, averaging more than 17 minutes per game in their careers. They’ll be joined on the second unit by centre Kelly Olynyk (back) of Kamloops, B.C., and small forward Bruce Brown (arthroscopic knee surgery) once they’re healthy for a robust veteran bench that can handle big minutes. Ja’Kobe Walter, Toronto’s 19th overall pick in this past summer’s draft, will presumably be Dick’s backup at the two-guard once he’s recovered from a sprained shoulder.
COMMUTERS — Walter was the highest of Toronto’s four picks selected in the 2024 NBA draft in late June. Power forward Jonathan Mogbo (31st), point guard Jamal Shead (45th) and centre Ulrich Chomche (57th) were also selected. Although all four will see some NBA minutes this season — especially Shead, whose dogged defence was a highlight of the Raptors’ pre-season — they’ll also be regulars for the G-League’s Raptors 905 in nearby Mississauga, Ont.
IN-SEASON TOURNAMENT — The Raptors are in Group B for the NBA’s second-annual in-season tournament. They’re grouped with the Milwaukee Bucks, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat and Detroit Pistons. Toronto’s so-called Cup Nights will begin Nov. 12 in Milwaukee and continue when the Raptors host Detroit on Nov. 15. Their third tournament game will be Nov. 29 in Miami and then their group stage will end Dec. 3 when Indiana visits Scotiabank Arena.
Financial incentive has been added to the NBA Cup playoffs this season, with players on the winning team earning US$514,971 each, while $205,988 goes to each player on the runner-up team. Players who lost in the semis will get $102,994 apiece and players that lose in the quarters will get $51,497.
PORTER SENTENCING — Former Toronto backup centre Jontay Porter will receive face sentencing on Dec. 18 after he pleaded guilty in the summer to a U.S. federal conspiracy crime. Porter, 24, was banned from the NBA after admitting that he helped bettors by intentionally underperforming in games. Prosecutors have estimated that he could be facing a range from just under 3 1/2 years in prison to a little over four years.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A judge has tossed three more lawsuits filed against lawmakers who shared social media posts that falsely accused a Kansas man of being among the shooters who opened fire at a rally celebrating the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory.
Denton Loudermill Jr., who was briefly handcuffed but not charged in the chaos that followed the deadly Feb. 14 shooting, filed federal lawsuits against three Republican Missouri state senators: Rick Brattin of Harrisonville, Denny Hoskins of Warrensburg and Nick Schroer of St. Charles County.
The dismissal of those suits Monday comes a month after a similar suit was dismissed against U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett, a Republican from Tennessee.
The judge cited issues with jurisdiction. Loudermill, who is from Olathe, Kansas, filed in federal court in Kansas, rather than in Missouri, where the lawmakers were from.
Loudermill’s lawyer, Arthur Benson, said that he planned to refile the lawsuits soon. Benson said previously that he also plans to refile a lawsuit against Burchett in Washington, D.C., where the congressman was when he posted about Loudermill on social media.
The shooting outside the historic Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, killed a well-known DJ and injured more than 20 others, many of them children.
Loudermill’s lawsuits said he froze when the gunfire erupted, standing in the middle of the chaos so long that police had put up crime scene tape by the time he finally started to walked away. As he tried to go under the tape to leave, officers stopped him and told him he was moving “too slow.” They handcuffed him and put him on a curb, where people began taking pictures and posting them on social media, the suits said.
Loudermill ultimately was led away from the area and told he was free to go.
But soon posts began appearing on X, formerly known as Twitter, that included a picture of Loudermill, a car wash employee who was born and raised in the U.S. The posts called him an “illegal alien” and a “shooter,” even though he had no involvement, the suits said.
Versions of those posts, one by Burchett, were then were re-posted on the three Missouri lawmaker’s accounts, accompanied by comments from the lawmakers.
Schroer asked for confirmation or denial from law enforcement when he reposted the message from Burchett’s account.
“I’ve been sent videos or stills showing at least 6 different people arrested from yesterday but officially told only 3 still in custody,” Schroer wrote on social media over Burchett’s post. “The people deserve answers.”
After the judge’s ruling, Schroer described the lawsuits as frivolous in a statement and said he was “exploring all legal options available against persons and media outlets that knowingly spread fake news instead of what I actually asked on social media.”
Hoskins said in a statement that he agreed with the judge’s decision and would “continue to pray for the innocent victims of the Kansas City parade shooting.”
Brattin said elected officials “must have the right to speak publicly on matters of public safety without fear of liberal elites in the media creating false narratives in an attempt to destroy their credibility and provoke frivolous legal attacks.”
The judge had denied as moot an argument that the three senators were protected by “legislative immunity” in their roles as lawmakers.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s office, which defended the three senators, praised the ruling.
“Questions of Missouri law belong in Missouri courts, not in remote courts in other states,” spokesperson Madeline Sieren said in a statement. “We have said that from Day One. Missourians should rest assured that they have an Attorney General who will always follow the law, even when it’s not easy.”
