Let's SMILE for Scholarships

In order to be eligible for a SMILE scholarship, you must be living in Canada.
 

As long as the individual is living in Canada, they are eligible to apply for the scholarship regardless of citizenship status. This includes but is not limited to being a citizen, a permanent resident, an immigrant, a work/study permit, a family sponsorship, an electronic travel authorization (eTA), a visitor visa, refugees, and verification of status (VOS) or request. We also welcome applications from new immigrants and refugees seeking asylum.

Yes, the parent(s) or guardian(s) of the individual must disclose financial information for the current tax year where applicable (i.e. most recent NOA).

The types of financial information that must be disclosed include:

a) Total Family Income.
b) Expenses (housing, groceries, bills, therapy, etc).
c) Any other type of funding received (SSAH, ACSD, OAP).

Yes, the individual must be registered with SMILE. This requires the individual to have a needs assessment on file with SMILE.

• To schedule an assessment, please email servicenavigator@smilecan.org and one of our case workers will be in touch with you within 5 to 7 business days.

The following items are eligible to be covered by th:

1. Therapeutic Activities

   • This includes speech and language therapy, behavioural therapy, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, ABA therapy, etc.

2. Aquatic therapy, music therapy

3. Counselling and or mental health services

4. Respite Services

5. Parent Coaching

6. Assistive technology and adaptive equipment

7. Wheelchairs, walkers, bath seats, beds, etc.

8. Hearing aids

9. Sensory Tools

   • This includes but is not limited to a weighted blanket, mini trampoline, theraputty, etc.

You must exhaust all previous scholarship funds in order to apply for the new and current Scholarship round.
However, if you have any extenuating circumstances you would like to discuss, please email servicenavigator@smilecan.org

How it works:​

1. Each application is reviewed by our team of allied health professionals. The team considers the service/equipment requested by the applicant along with their financial situation. Each team member then votes on the scholarship amount that they think the family is eligible for. The average scholarship amount between the votes is then awarded to the applicant. Any identifiers are removed before the information is presented to our team to promote decision-making based solely on need.

2. A SMILE representative will inform you via email if your scholarship application has been approved or not.

3. Upon approval, you will be notified of the amount which has been approved.

4. Once you have decided upon a provider, SMILE will draw up a contract and will pay upon services rendered.

   • In the case of adaptive equipment, SMILE can reimburse you for the amount put towards the piece of equipment.

   • In the case of therapeutic activities, families are not required to make any payments to the service provider within the amount they are granted by SMILE. SMILE will pay those providers directly for the amount up to the maximum granted to the individual.

5. Please note:

   • An application is required to be considered for a scholarship.

   • Eligibility is reviewed for each application sent.

   • There is no guarantee that the scholarship will be approved.

   • The amount ranges from $250-$3000. - change this to: Scholarship funding is any amount up to $3000

SMILE is required to keep all financial records for up to 7 years in case of an audit by the Government of Canada for Grants.
Please note if you do not want to apply for Summer
2021, you have until July 31st to use your Winter 2021 funding.

For any other questions or concerns, please direct them to: servicenavigator@smilecan.org
For questions in English/Arabic, please direct them to: Raian.Othman@smilecan.org