Privacy Policy

Good Samaritan Outreach Society ("GSOS", "we", "us", or "our") is a non-profit organization based in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting the personal information you share with us. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect through gsosconnect.org (the "Site") and through our programs, how we use and safeguard it, and the rights you have under Canadian privacy law, including the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and British Columbia's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA).

1. Scope

This Policy applies to personal information collected through the Site, our contact and volunteer forms, in-person intake at our Surrey office, our community events, and any email or phone correspondence with our team. It does not apply to third-party websites or services linked from the Site, which have their own privacy practices.

2. Information we collect

We only collect information that is necessary to deliver our programs, respond to inquiries, and operate the Site. Depending on how you interact with us, this may include:

• Contact information — name, email address, phone number, and postal address.
• Inquiry content — the subject and message you send us through forms, email, or in person.
• Volunteer and program information — availability, areas of interest, languages spoken, emergency contact, and, where applicable, references.
• Client intake information — household composition, settlement needs, referrals, and other details you choose to share so we can connect you with appropriate services.
• Donation information — name and contact details for tax receipts. Payment card details are processed directly by our payment processor and are not stored by GSOS.
• Technical information — IP address, browser type, device type, referring page, and pages visited, collected automatically by our hosting platform to keep the Site secure and reliable.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 without the consent of a parent or guardian.

3. How we use your information

We use personal information only for the purposes for which it was collected, including to:

• Respond to questions, requests, and referrals;
• Coordinate volunteer placements, program registrations, and events;
• Provide settlement, food security, wellness, youth, and community navigation services;
• Issue donation receipts and maintain financial records as required by law;
• Communicate updates about programs or events you have asked to hear about;
• Improve the Site, our services, and our outreach;
• Comply with funder reporting requirements (using aggregated, de-identified data wherever possible); and
• Meet legal, regulatory, or audit obligations.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information.

4. Legal basis and consent

We rely on your consent to collect and use your personal information. Consent may be express (for example, when you submit a form) or implied by your interaction with us. You may withdraw consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions, by contacting us at the address below. Withdrawing consent may limit our ability to provide certain services.

5. Sharing of information

We share personal information only when necessary, and only with:

• Service providers who help us operate the Site, host data, send email, and process donations, under contracts that require them to safeguard your information.
• Partner agencies, only when you have asked for a referral or consented to information sharing as part of an intake.
• Funders and auditors, in aggregated and de-identified form unless you have consented otherwise.
• Authorities, where required by law, court order, or to protect the safety of an individual.

Some of our service providers may store data outside of British Columbia or Canada. When that happens, your information may become subject to the laws of those jurisdictions.

6. How we protect your information

We use reasonable administrative, physical, and technical safeguards to protect personal information against loss, theft, and unauthorized access, disclosure, or modification. These include encrypted transport (HTTPS), access controls and authentication on our backend, row-level security on stored records, restricted staff access on a need-to-know basis, and regular review of our practices. No system is perfectly secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

7. Retention

We keep personal information only for as long as needed to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, to comply with legal and accounting obligations, and to support our community work. Contact and program records are typically retained for up to seven (7) years, after which they are securely deleted or anonymized. You may ask us to delete your information sooner where we are not required to retain it.

8. Cookies and analytics

The Site uses only the cookies required to function (such as session and security cookies). We do not run third-party advertising trackers. We may use privacy-respecting analytics to understand how the Site is used in aggregate; these analytics do not identify individual visitors.

9. Your rights

Subject to legal exceptions, you have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you;
• Request correction of information that is inaccurate or incomplete;
• Withdraw consent or request deletion of your information;
• Unsubscribe from our email updates at any time using the link in our emails or by contacting us; and
• Lodge a concern with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada or the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia.

10. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to our practices or legal requirements. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page indicates when it was most recently revised. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically.

11. Contact us

Privacy Officer
Good Samaritan Outreach Society
130 - 13725 72A Avenue, Surrey, BC V3W 0S4, Canada
Email: gsosconnect@yahoo.com
Phone: 604-710-2514

See also our Trust & Privacy page, Terms and Conditions, and Accessibility statement.