The Horse Connection (Urban Stable), Experiential Learning Program, $10,000

Urban Stable's Experiential Learning Program empowers marginalized youth to learn critical life skills through the transformative power of the horse-human connection. Youth learn teamwork, communication, self-regulation, respect, confidence and more through experiential learning with horses (the real teachers) and transfer these skills back to their school, home, and community.

iSisters Technology Mentoring Inc., The Way Forward for Inuit Girls, $10,000

The Way Forward for Inuit Girls offers computer skills training by a qualified Indigenous instructor who speaks Inuktitut to marginalized, low income Inuit girls. Through on-line computer training, there are no demographic boundaries to girls accessing our basic, intermediate and advanced programs resulting in employment or obtaining a higher education.

Jessie's - The June Callwood Centre for Young Women, Peer-to-Peer-Community Education Program, $10,000

The Peer-to-Peer-Community Education Program trains Jessie’s participants to speak at middle-and-high-schools about risks of teen-pregnancy. For Jessie’s participants there is correlation between being in-program and graduating high-school. For students who hear presentation, they learn about an under-served-and-marginalized group of-teens.

London Regional Children’s Museum, On-Site Education Programs, $10,000

The London Children’s Museum (CM) will provide 850 students with On-Site Education Programs at no cost, which will ensure children from low-income families have equal access to quality education. On-site Education Programs are delivered right at the CM and contribute to classroom learning through hands-on programming and materials.

OrKidstra-Sistema Ottawa, Engaging Youth Through Music, $10,000

OrKidstra’s Engaging Youth Through Music provides opportunities for kids from under-served Ottawa communities to reach for success through music. OrKidstra’s free after-school, in-person programming will provide social development through music opportunities to 250 students in 2022-23. OrKidstra students range in age from 5-18 come from over 62 different linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

Paws for Hope Animal Foundation, Better Together, $10,000

Better Together supports vulnerable families with pets ensuring no one must choose between caring for their pet and a home, food to eat, or living safely. Facilitated by a Human Support Coordinator, Better Together facilitates access to veterinary care, other pet supports, and links to human social services.

Plenty Canada, Cross Cultural Leadership in Cultivating the Wellbeing of All, $10,000

This project empowers Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth to deepen their connection with Mother Earth and one another through land-based learnings on a youth-led multi-day camping trip. This immersive experience seeks to foster understanding of our responsibilities to Ginawaydaganuc, the web of life, furthering the goals of reconciliation in Canada.

Start2Finish Canada (S2F), R&R Club+, $10,000

Start2Finish is continuing to adapt/implement an Indigenous-specific version of their R&R Club+ (running/reading/social-emotional learning) after-school program (online/in-person) in 15 Indigenous communities nationwide. This will empower 600 children to connect more deeply with their identity through Indigenous sport, storytelling and literature, helping them build self-esteem, bridge education gaps, and achieve goals.

Sudbury Manitoulin Children's Foundation, Send-to-Camp Program, $6,000

The Send-to-Camp Program offers a variety of summer camping opportunities for marginalized children between the ages of 5-14. We use existing camps as well as our own Sports Camp, Arts & Leisure Camp Roving Camp for remote areas so that those youth will have the opportunity to attend camp.

York Region Rose of Sharon Services for Young Mothers, Living & Learning Together, $10,000

Living & Learning Together supports the educational and developmental needs of 30 marginalized pregnant/parenting youth in York Region by providing a welcoming, inclusive space to continue their high school education with onsite child-minding. Families participate together in healthy meals, wellness check-ins and parent-child development workshops.Learning continues with take-home activity kits.

Multi-Year Grantees (2022-2024)

Art City in St. James Town, Earth Advocates, $7,500

Earth Advocates is a summer camp program that uses art to examine the interconnectedness of humans, animals and the environment. Combining art with hands-on stewardship education we ask youth, "how are all living things connected and how can we nurture our connections to achieve well-being for all?”

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Guelph, Environ-Mentoring Program, $5,000

The Environ-Mentoring Program nurtures an understanding of environmental and conservation issues in participating marginalized children and youth. This group initiative provides mentees and mentors opportunities to attend organized outings to learn about nature, wildlife, and their surroundings, while fostering the developmental relationship they have built.

PEI Farm Centre Association, Legacy Garden Therapeutic Horticulture Program, $10,000

The therapeutic horticulture program in the Legacy Garden aims to provide opportunities for connection, learning, and healing for adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities and senior citizens.

Procyon Wildlife Centre, Critical Care and Rehabilitation Support, $10,000

Procyon Wildlife’s critical care and rehabilitation work helped 1500 wild patients in 2021, accepting a broad range of species from all life stages. Hydro is an essential part of the care, feeding and medical support we provide for injured or orphaned wildlife until they’re healthy/mature to return to their habitats.

Rainbow Songs Foundation, Comprehensive Music Program for Children and Youth, $7,500

Funding will support a comprehensive music program for children and youth living in a Toronto shelter that would include group music classes for children under the age of 5 with their caregiver and small group music classes (ukulele, recorder, vocal or piano) for school age children and youth.

Scarborough Women’s Centre, Building Strong Futures, $7,500

Building Strong Futures facilitates empowerment in young women at schools and community organizations in Scarborough. We provide diverse, interactive workshops on topics concerning young women’s issues; along with a multi-session leadership development program where participants create a community project to raise awareness on a young women’s issue of their choice.

The Table Community Food Centre, The Earth, Body and Budget Friendly Community Kitchen, $7,500

The Earth, Body and Budget Friendly Community Kitchen uses a collaborative approach to build on the existing knowledge, skills and creativity of participants to improve their food literacy. They highlight foods and menus that address individual and planetary health while also being very affordable.

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.

Chiots Nordiques, zootherapy and training program, $7,500

The zootherapy and training program provides resources and tools for young children and teenagers in the Indigenous communities including Chisasibi and Obedjiwan. 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.

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.

LIFE*SPIN, Pocket-Sized Farms, $5,000

LIFE*SPIN's Pocket-Sized Farms summer program is for school-aged children in London who live in families struggling with poverty. The program is focused on nutrition, education and environmental stewardship.

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

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

Expanding Support to Indigenous Children, Youth and Families brings culturally-informed and holistic in-school programming to an elementary school in Thunder Bay with a high-need population. Working in partnership with Shkoday, a local community program focused on providing in-school supports to Indigenous children, 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.