By reducing personal barriers, we serve youth who are: 

• 12-18 years of age,
• Located in Calgary and surrounding areas, and
• Want to give back to their community.

 Youth Central empowers youth to find and build their communities. We offer: 

• Team based volunteering,
• Leadership committees,
• Life skill development, and
• Dynamic opportunities to get involved and give back.

We need help with:

• Mission and programming financial support
• Volunteer recognition

 

The need for our services: 

Since the onset of the pandemic youth have faced a social disconnect that previous generations have not experienced. The situation calls for a robust effort to help young people reconnect their social and community ties. The demand for youth driven programming and support is the highest we’ve seen in 30 years.

According to a recent survey on the impact of Covid-19 on youth in Canada, 49% of youth indicated that one of the biggest challenges they faced was isolation and loneliness. The shift from in-person to remote learning was also identified as a key challenge for 33% of the youth that were surveyed (P6 Mental Health Commission of Canada). These numbers reflect the critical need for renewed social opportunities for young people to connect with their peers and community.

Currently Youth Central connects with over 1,200 youth annually through our programming. Youth who engage with Youth Central are empowered by: 

• Connecting with others;
• Gaining confidence, skills and empathy; and
• Building a greater understanding of the needs of their community.

 

How? 

We believe youth should volunteer and be involved in social change efforts in all levels of community. To do this we collaborate with nearly 100 local organizations to provide meaningful volunteer and leadership opportunities.

We recruit youth through:

• Community and school presentations
• Targeted partner agencies
• Word of mouth

We have a unique approach to youth engagement. Youth Central is a welcoming and safe place that is 100% driven by youth. We value meaningful and equal engagement between youth and staff, where individual strengths, ideas and opinions are respected and encouraged. We prioritize:

• Teamwork
• Power sharing
• Creativity
• Community connection, and,
• Critical reflection.

How can you help?

• Making a financial donation to support our mission and programming
• Donations for volunteer recognition.  For example, grocery store gift cards for snacks and food