Wow, what a year!! The gratitude that I as an individual, and we as an organization, feel for your commitment and support this year is enormous. While standing in the face of so many changing landscapes and the growing needs of our students, you continued to stand with us. You recognized that the young people we serve matter. You committed to them. Our students, who needed you more than ever, heard your response. Because of you, we were able to meet the needs of young people across Canada in a way that is far greater than ever before.

For the past 24 years we have been supporting children and youth to thrive, for the past three years we have been singularly focused on how to do this with increased continuity of service, comprehensive supports and growth. This year, new and increased commitments from funders propelled momentum to the work that we have been doing to make this possible. As we continue our work, we look to our soon to be released 3-year strategic plan to bring a new level of sophistication to our model, and scale to our targets (both financial and those of impact). With strong fundamentals of planning and strategy, and an iterative approach that is nimble to the ever changing needs of our students, but solidly focused on the learning outcomes identified in our theory of change model and national curriculum, we are ready for the next chapter of growth.

We know there are thousands upon thousands of young people who need us. We know that our combination of leadership development curriculum and the arts is unique and the approach we take is effective. We know that we have the infrastructure ready to scale. We know that we need you, our supporters, partners, families, volunteers, and stakeholders to stay steadfast in your commitment to help us change the lives of more young people across Canada. Let’s do this together.