Multi-Year Grantees

Arts Etobicoke, Arts Education for Marginalized Children & Youth, $7,500

Free arts education for local children and youth through our After School Art Classes and Saturday Art classes. This program provides accessible, educational opportunities for marginalized children and youth from the nearby high-needs neighbourhoods. Each week the gallery is transformed into a vibrant, youth-centric community hub where youth engage with others, learn new skills, and build confidence. We offer diverse learning experiences led by professional artist-facilitators who specialize in progressive teaching approaches for youth of all abilities and backgrounds.

Bill Reid Foundation, Interconnections: Reconciliation through Education, $7,500

Interconnections: Reconciliation through Education school programming from the Bill Reid Gallery provides a meaningful way for students to participate in reconciliation. Art is an accessible way for students to learn about Indigenous culture, and programming is designed with customized modules for grades K-12 to implement the TRC’s Calls to Action and to encourage discussion on cultural traditions and contemporary issues and perspectives.

Camp Awakening, Year-Round Youth Leadership Development, $5,000

The Camp Awakening Academy is a pilot leadership and life skills development program for youth with physical disabilities aged 19-29. The goal of this new year-round initiative is to help young adults gain tangible skills and certifications that will help improve their employability and capacity to live more independently while also building a connection to nature and to a supportive community post-pandemic.

Chiots Nordiques, Zootherapy Program, $7,500

The zootherapy and training program provides resources and tools for young children and teenagers in Indigenous communities. The therapeutic use of animals in the school setting offers emotional support to children in crisis or anxiety. The training program for teenagers to care for rescue animals provides an opportunity to create relationships and open minds to diverse human and animal realities. Students are called to work at the rescue and care for the animals on-site

Girls Inc. of York Region, STRONG, SMART, and BOLD After-school Program, $7,500

Girls Inc. of York Region's Strong, Smart, and Bold After-School Program for marginalized girls and teens ages 6-18,will be expanded into 1 new school in an at-risk and under-served community. Programs focus on building critical thinking and leadership skills, improving self-esteem, teaching financial management, preventing substance abuse, and cyber bullying, encouraging nutrition and positive body image, and learning self-defense. Girls also participate in other field trips.

Housing for Youth in the City of York Corporation (commonly referred to as Horizons for Youth), Mental Health & Wellness Program for Homeless Youth, $7,500

Horizons for Youth’s Mental Health & Wellness Program provides homeless and at-risk youth in Toronto with individual counselling, group therapy and psychiatric services to help them achieve wellness. This critical health intervention is proven to help youth improve their mental health and prepare to successfully exit the shelter system.

Manitoba Conservatory of Music and Arts, Music Equals, $5,000

Music Equals creates accessible, diverse and inclusive music education opportunities for at-risk youth, underserved communities and older adults. By offering shared learning experiences that develop musical foundations and culturally authentic experiences we positively impact the quality of life and strengthen the sense of community among participants.

Returning to Spirit Inc., The Power of Story - 1 Generation of Reconciliation for 1 Generation of Racism, $5,000

The Power of Story: 1 Generation of Reconciliation for 1 Generation of Racism three-step reconciliation process confronts biases; promotes social interaction and fosters connectivity from a place of responsibility. The RTS process creates connection between all diverse groups by building upon a mutuality circle model of awareness, communication, and processing.

StepStones for Youth, Youth Support Services Program, $7,500

StepStones’ Youth Support Services Program provides intensive and transformative support to marginalized children and youth involved in Ontario’s Child Welfare System and who have significant histories of trauma, abuse, and unstable guardian care. Through homelessness prevention, mentorship, and engagement initiatives, we help young people achieve education, secure long-term housing, stabilize and improve mental health, and build networks of supportive and caring adults they can rely on for life.

The Back Door: A Youth Employment Society, MyPlan Program, $7,500

The Doorway believes no young person should have given up on their future before the age of 24. Street-entrenched youth voluntarily enter The Doorway's two-year planning process called MyPlan where they set goals and build relationships with community members through a self-directed process. With each set goal, they earn increntives, which is the first legal money many have ever earned. As youth participate in the planning process, they begin to see that change is possible.

The Dam - Develop Assist Mentor, Nature-Link, $7,500

Nature-Link is a 12-week outdoor youth program that affords marginalized urban youth the opportunity to connect with nature through physical, intellectual, and emotional experiences. Youth will experience the land which they live on and learn from the Indigenous people who inhabit it; learning to care for and live in harmony with the natural world around us.

The Land Between, The Anishinaabek Land Trust for Ontario: A Path to Restoration and Reconciliation, $7,500

The Anishinaabek Land Trust will preserve and enhance natural environments and restore Anishinaabek cultures by securing land free from the Indian Act. The conservancy will be run using Traditional Governance (Clan Systems) with Indigenous Knowledge Holders and elders across Ontario; and land will be stewarded in a way that honours and revitalizes Traditional Ecological and Cultural Knowledge and practices across generations.

Trails Youth Initiatives, Inc., Four Seasons, Four Years, For Life, $7,500

The Four Seasons, Four Years, For Life program serves marginalized youth facing a wide range of barriers and has a goal to instill practical skills, relevant knowledge, and the self-confidence to use them. Through outdoor skill development, mentorship, high school credits and job opportunities, we enhance the lives of our participants, their families, and the greater community.

United Way of Thunder Bay, Expanding Support to Indigenous Children, Youth and Families, $7,500

Expanding Support to Indigenous Children, Youth and Families will bring culturally-informed and holistic in-school programming to an elementary school with a high-need population. Working in partnership with Shkoday, a local community program focused on providing in-school supports to Indigenous children, as well as funders, school boards, and donors, the United Way of Thunder Bay will ensure more children and families can access tutoring, nutrition, recreations, and traditional Anishinaabe culture and teachings.

Water First Education and Training Inc., Indigenous School Water Program, $7,500

The Indigenous School Water Program engages Indigenous students (K-12) to participate in hands-on STEM-based workshops, in the classroom and out on the land. Through 3-5 day long workshops, delivered in-person or virtually by certified educators, we inspire Indigenous youth to pursue careers in water science, improving Indigenous perspectives in STEM as a whole.

Weston Frontlines Centre, Thinking Outside of the Box, $7,500

Thinking Outside of the Box engages racialized and marginalized youth (18-29) in a culinary training program that will not only provide them with training butal so income and opportunities to support food security and mental health intervention and prevention in their community, through the distribution of meal boxes with positive messages and mental health resources.

Lakeshore Arts Committee, Q Summit, $7,500

Q Summit - Mentorship Program is a program for 2SLGBTQIA+ youth and allies in Etobicoke. The program is facilitated by queer artists using two artistic mediums. Over two ten-week workshop sessions, youth will explore their identity and develop their self-expression, focusing on topics that are important to them.