Communications Guidelines
Communications Guidelines
Roots of Empathy has built a strong international brand presence in print, broadcast, and increasingly via social media. Organizational and program integrity are key elements of the Roots of Empathy brand, as are the protection of the children and adults in our programs. These guidelines are intended to support you as you gather, submit and share permissions, photos, video and artwork.
Thank you for being our ambassadors and contributing to the ongoing success of Roots of Empathy.
In agreeing to be a volunteer Roots of Empathy Instructor:
- you agree that you will not share any photos or videos for which Roots of Empathy has not obtained permissions; and
- if you take photos or videos for which Roots of Empathy has obtained permissions, you agree to wholly assign copyright to Roots of Empathy. Roots of Empathy gives you permission to use such photographs and videos taken by you on social media. Please refrain from including personal or identifying details (such as names or specific comments) about anyone in the photographs or videos as it may inadvertently subject participating students to unwanted attention, jeopardizing the trust and security so important to the success of the program.
- you agree that you will not share artwork on social media.
- Download "How to submit permission forms, photos and videos" PDF
- Download "How_to_submit_artwork" PDF
Upload your Roots of Empathy Permission Forms and Photos Here
Please use the above Canto link to submit your photos and permission forms. The short video below will take you through the steps and show you what to expect.
How to Upload Documents and Photos using the Canto Link
To Upload Files:
Not every field is required, however, providing as much information as possible will help us file the images correctly and locate them later.
Please Note: Mandatory sections are marked with an asterisk(*). After uploading the images, with the required information click “Apply”.
How do you know your upload worked?
A message will appear at the top, just below the search bar, confirming that your files were successfully uploaded. To view more details, navigate to the right and click on “View Details”, and a pop up will display how many files were successfully uploaded. Unfortunately, the images/pictures you uploaded are not displayed - only the number of files. After that, we will review the submissions and file them accordingly in the Canto library.
Please watch the 'How To Video' above if you are having trouble, or let me know if you have any questions: hsargeant@rootsofempathy.org
Thank you!
Heather Sargeant
Director, Marketing and Communications
Permission forms tell the Roots of Empathy organization if and how we can use photos and artwork from Roots of Empathy classrooms. The forms give us the legal right and legal protection to use photos and artwork if the students’ parents have said “Yes”. Today, more than ever, it is imperative that we have signed permission forms from anyone who is in a photo, even if it is to be used only in the classroom.
The permission forms are organizational documents that verify for us whether or not we can use photos and artwork from students. We need to have the forms filed and accessible for our staff and any others who may ask about them, including parents who may request a change of permission regarding the data they have given us.
Yes, you do. We must have a record of the permissions granted, whether or not you are taking any photos.
Yes, you do. Today, with smartphones and social media, anyone could take a photo of that photo and share it. For this reason, even if that’s the only way you are using photos, you need to have collected and submitted permission forms.
No, you cannot. If you do not have permission for a student, then you cannot take that student’s photo for any reason.
No, she cannot. Our Roots of Empathy permission forms cover only the use by Roots of Empathy organization, and by Roots of Empathy Instructors who have agreed to the Communications Guidelines.
No, they cannot take photos of the students. Our Roots of Empathy permissions only cover Roots of Empathy and Roots of Empathy Instructors who have agreed to the Communications Guidelines. The parents may, however, take photos of their baby and themselves and share them.
Yes, it can, if it is publishing photos only of students who have given permission to Roots of Empathy AND to their school. It is the school’s responsibility to gather their own permissions from their students, and it is standard practice. We ask however, that the school follow the same guidelines as we do – photos only during family visits, best practice being followed, not sharing details about the curriculum, toys etc, or sharing identifying comments from the students. This is to protect the children, our program integrity and our intellectual property. You may find that schools/teachers will want to publish photos on secure platforms they use to share news with parents, such as SeeSaw. This is fine as long as the guidelines are followed and all permissions are in. This is different from teachers sharing on their personal social media channels, which is not covered by our permissions and therefore, not allowed.
