2009 Grantees

Go Girls! Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds program is a school-based group mentoring program, for girls 12-14, designed to promote active living, balanced eating and positive self-image. In its inaugural session (Feb-Apr’07) this highly successful program served 42 girls in six schools. In the 2007/2008 school year, 56 girls participated in the program. The Go Girls! Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds program will continue to grow as several new schools have expressed interest in the Go Girls! Healthy Bodies Healthy Minds program for the upcoming school year.

The Community Circles of Support for Youth program builds connections with “youth in care” through a weekly recreation program supported by healthy, caring community volunteers. Youth and three community members will form support circles to help youth better cope with adolescence.

Eating Disorders Awareness Coalition of Waterloo Region

The Positive Body Image Connection program will facilitate 20 interactive youth presentations providing tools for positive self-acceptance and body image. As well the presentations will enable youth to recognize and help a friend who is suffering from an eating disorder.

The Eclipse program was developed for middle and high school students with school-behavior problems. The program combines group counseling and judo training, a non-violent sport that promotes social, psychological, and physical development.

Building Resiliency in High Risk Youth This program enables the staff at the John Howard Society of Waterloo-Wellington to identify high-risk youth currently participating in their programs who could benefit from one-on-one professional counselling in order to reduce risk factors in their lives.

The Music Therapist program at Lutherwood is an innovative program that encourages communication, listening and sharing of emotions with the ultimate goal of the improved wellness of the individual youth. The Music Therapist program offers a different approach to meeting treatment goals.

Pathways to Education Canada is a charitable organization created to reduce poverty and its effects by lowering the high school dropout rate and increasing access to post-secondary education among disadvantaged youth in Canada.

ROOF is committed to providing for the safety, support, and overall well-being of homeless youth and youth-at-risk, age 12-25, in the Waterloo Region. The Robert and Judith Astley Family Foundation supports ROOF this year through a final commitment in a mutli-year capital grant as well as a new capital program – Buttons and Books. Recycled books and youth designed / created buttons will be sold as part of ROOF’s Street Designs Enterprise. Youth will showcase their artistic skills while learning a marketable skill.

WAYVE– Working Against Youth Violence Everywhere – is a youth-based violence prevention pilot project, based primarily in schools, in Waterloo Region (Ontario, Canada). WAYVE’s purpose is to address youth issues such as bullying, harassment, discrimination, racism and gang violence.

The Newcomer Youth Program helps facilitate immigrant youth integration into their new way of life in Canada. The main goal of the program is to address issues faced by these youth, assist them in living in a new society and provide growth opportunities.