Ronald McDonald
House of
Southwestern Ontario

The following policy discloses the privacy practices for Ronald McDonald House of Southwestern Ontario Inc.

Our commitment

Our organization is committed to protecting the privacy of the personal information of its donors, volunteers, employees, members, clients and all other stakeholders. We value the trust of those we deal with, and of the public, and recognize that maintaining this trust requires that we be transparent and accountable in how we treat the information that you choose to share with us.

During the course of our various projects and activities, we frequently gather and use personal information. Anyone from whom we collect such information should expect that it will be carefully protected and that any use of or other dealing with this information is subject to consent. Our privacy practices are designed to achieve this.

Ronald McDonald House of Southwestern Ontario Inc. is committed to protecting your privacy. Most importantly,

· Your right to confidentiality and privacy will be protected.

· Your personal information will not be sold, traded, or rented to others.

We will be pleased to inform you of the existence, any use, and disclosure of personally identifying information, and provide you with access to that personal information, subject to exceptions assigned by law, within 30 (thirty) days of a receipt of a written request directed to:

Defining personal information

Personal information is any information that can be used to distinguish, identify or contact a specific individual. This information can include an individual's opinions or beliefs, as well as facts about, or related to, the individual. Exceptions: business contact information and certain publicly available information, such as names, addresses and telephone numbers as published in telephone directories, are not considered personal information.

Where an individual uses his or her home contact information as business contact information as well, we consider that the contact information provided is business contact information, and is not therefore subject to protection as personal information.

Privacy practices

Personal information gathered by our organization is kept in confidence. Our personnel are authorized to access personal information based only on their need to deal with the information for the reason(s) for which it was obtained. Safeguards are in place to ensure that the information is not disclosed or shared more widely than is necessary to achieve the purpose for which it was gathered. We also take measures to ensure the integrity of this information is maintained and to prevent its being lost or destroyed.

We collect, use and disclose personal information only for purposes that a reasonable person would consider appropriate in light of the circumstances. We routinely offer individuals we deal with the opportunity to opt not to have their information shared for purposes beyond those for which it was explicitly collected.

If at any time you would like to have your information updated or be removed from one of our mailing lists, please contact us with your request and we will make the adjustment(s) to your personal information within 30 (thirty) days.

Website and Electronic Commerce

We use password protocols and encryption software to protect personal and other information we receive when a product or service that involves a financial or commercial transaction is requested and/or paid for online. Our software is routinely updated to maximize protection of such information.

Use of Cookies

Cookies are small text files a website can use to recognize repeat users and ease the ongoing access to and use of the website. Ronald McDonald House of Newfoundland and Labrador Inc. does not use information transferred through cookies for any promotional or marketing purposes, nor is that information shared with any third parties. Users should be aware that the Ronald McDonald House of Newfoundland and Labrador Inc. cannot control the use of cookies by advertisers or third parties. If you do not want information collected through the use of cookies, most browsers allow users to deny or accept the cookies.

Updating of privacy policy

We regularly review our privacy practices for our various activities, and update our policy. Please check with us on a regular basis for information on our most up-to-date practices.

Contact Information

Question, concerns or complaints relating to our privacy policy on the treatment of personal information can be conveyed by phone at (519)685-3232 or can be e-mailed to info [at] rmhswo [dot] ca Attention: Privacy Officer

Inquiries and requests for access

If you have any questions about this privacy policy, or would like to access your personal information, please contact:

Information and Update Request Policy

Our organization is committed to protecting the privacy of the personal information of its donors, volunteers, employees, members, clients and all other stakeholders. We value the trust of those we deal with, and of the public, and recognize that maintaining this trust requires that we be transparent and accountable in how we treat the information that you have chosen to share with us.

Openness

Individuals can check their information that we have on record to verify, update and correct it, and to have any obsolete information removed.

General donor and client address and contact information can be easily updated by either sending updated information by email or regular mail or by telephoning us at (519)685-3232 and requesting a change to your file information.

Requests for copies of individual personal files are to be made in writing to:

Please note that when some individual files are requested, there may be confidential information relating to other individuals or information confidential to Ronald McDonald House of Southwestern Ontario Inc. linked in that file. Such files can not be copied or released, however any factual information regarding an individual requesting their own file, will be made available.

Under normal circumstances, all requests and updates will be completed within 30 days of receipt of the request.