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United for youth

Making Waterloo Region the best community for children & youth.

Donate Now

United for youth

Making Waterloo Region the best community for children & youth.

Donate Now

What is United for youth?

Data from the Children and Youth Impact Survey identified a deficit in belonging and engagement from our youth. United for Youth was inspired by the idea to better serve our youth.

Youth-serving organizations in our region need an infusion of funding in order to empower and engage our youth to identify and solve problems using innovation and compassion.

United for Youth will function in a multiphase approach:

      • Training and capacity building for youth serving non-profits; Global Innovation Training (GIMI) and organizational capabilities (technology, data capturing, etc.)
      • Seed funding for youth inspired projects that address critical issues
         
Youth Impact Survey

The solution

Innovation is complex problem solving that has the power to address all of the issues within our community through leadership and change management development. This framework empowers youth to be leaders and change-makers. 

Children and youth see community issues through a different lens which leads to different creative solutions

“We see problems in our community every day but teens aren’t given the tools to fix them”

The CYPT represents a network of 68 child and youth-serving organizations. Building cross-sector capacity will create a framework for change and transformation across multiple generations and enable long term solutions.

Youth have the answers. Through multiple community wide surveys, they have identified 63 actions for what they want and need within the community. 

Read about the 63 Youth Action requests

Accelerating change

Accelerating community change using youth informed data is the best investment in our community for children and youth, and the future.

  • Children and youth can outthink us, it happens faster than we think. Small actions = big impact
  • Waterloo Region is a hub for innovation and technology – what better place for youth to become the leaders and innovators of the future?
  • The best way to get youth involved is to give them the tools and let them go do it

Youth Testimonials

“We see problems in our community every day, but teens aren’t usually given an outlet to fix them. But this gives us an opportunity to do that, and that’s really important.” 

Student

GIMI iMPACT

“I felt very valued and heard when talking to Grayson and other people at Communitech! It felt motivating to know that if I’m very devoted to an idea it could become a reality. I was also inspired by the design of Communitech to re-design my room.”  

Xander

WCDSB Enrichment group

“The project helps people, it’s not just about a test. It brings something to the community.” 

Vihaan

Student at Groh Public School.

Project Photos

Program Partners

A leader in community collaboration, United Way WRC works within a network of national United Way partners and brings local workplaces and individuals together in support of local non-profit organizations.

CYPT is a community-wide partnership of 68 Waterloo Region organizations that serve children, youth, and families. They work to improve child and youth well-being and move the needle on their well-being.  

SWRIL’s goal is to make Waterloo Region the best community in Canada for children and youth. They support and fund youth-led projects, experiments, and ideas.