To keep the CYN membership up to date on the implementation of our 2012-2015 work plan over the summer months, the Ending Poverty priority presents its Summer Update Edition, which makes for great reading at the beach or poolside.

Social Awareness and Youth Engagement – On June 28, over 200 camp counselors partook in the Poverty Budget Challenge, an activity that helps illustrate some of the difficult economic choices families living with low income must make. During the follow-up debrief and discussion, the youth expressed an increased understanding of these choices and how they might …

As the first newsletter of 2013, the Ending Poverty Team is casting its vision forward to what we hope to accomplish by the end of the year.

Reducing the Impact

At the end of 2013…

• …interested system-wide and neighbourhood partners will be implementing a coordinated Basic Needs system strategy, building on the 2012 work of the Basic Needs Beacon team
• …Family Centres will have a shared understanding of how basic needs are delivered in their communities and will be implementing strategies to increase neighbourhood access to basic needs
• …gLean on Me! will have increased the

Kerry McCuaig is a fellow on Early Childhood Policy working with the Atkinson Centre for Society and Child Development and is an expert advisor to the early years work.  Kerry will be discussing The Early Years Study 3: Making decisions, Taking action which documents the social, economic and scientific rationale for increased investments in early childhood education. The study also introduces the Early Childhood Education Report to monitor the funding, policy, access and quality of early education programming. This study is sparking widespread interest in how experiences in early childhood shape the architecture and function …

Growing Chefs!

For many people, it’s hard to imagine witnessing children clamour for more vegetables. But to Andrew Fleet and his team of volunteer chefs and community members, it’s so common they don’t even show a hint of amazement. CYN has partnered with Growing Chefs! Ontario to deliver the highly successful vegetable gardening project at St. Anne Catholic School, in the CYN Literacy Demonstration Neighbourhood.

This urban agricultural program for grade 3 students focuses on healthy eating, and as Fleet says, “gets kids excited about eating real food!” Over four class visits, children plant and …

The Westminster Working Group continues to do great work with respect to healthy eating and physical activity in Westminster. At the present time, HEHPA staff members are continuing to support the Westminster residents as they implement their Neighbourhood Action Plan.

A big congratulation goes out to the Westminster Working Group for winning the Million Tree Neighbourhood Challenge.  The prize for winning this challenge will be a $50,000 enhancement to Westminster’s neighbourhood parks! This prize will help Westminster further increase the number and quality of physical activity opportunities offered to residents in the neighbourhood.

In order …

“Yes, thank you very much Kiwanis club! We received a bag when I was pregnant with my son. He’s almost 2 now. He loves the books we received and loves reading with us every day. We use the bag as his “school bag” for day care.”

~Comment on LFPress.com

Kiwanis Club Instrumental in support of Prenatal and Infant Literacy Development in London

For almost 4 years, the Kiwanis Club of Forest City-London has been working in partnership with the Child & Youth Network to reach the goal of putting Baby’s Book Bag into the hands …

The Healthy Eating and Healthy Physical Activity Initiative has a busy summer planned! All working groups have been meeting to work toward their 2012 goals. Some of the most notable projects are the ‘Get Your 60!’ video, which has been completed and can be viewed on www.inmotion4life.ca and will also cycle on local Rogers Television stations this summer. This is the first of two videos being released for the ‘Get Your 60!’ campaign. A BIG Thank You goes out to all the CYN Members who participated in the creation of this Public Service Announcement. Please …

Building a Family Centred Service System

When our community came together to form the Child and Youth Network we committed to improving outcomes for children, youth and families. When they told us that it was difficult to navigate our system of programs and services in London and how they had to tell their story numerous times before they could access the right service, we collectively decided that we needed to do better.

A comprehensive plan has been developed by our network. This plan is based on a system of Family Centres in neighbourhoods that will …

Preparing for Launch!

Community development activities abound in Argyle, Carling, Westmount and White Oaks as cups of coffee are giving way to concrete plans for the Family Centres in these neighbourhoods. Community events and outreach to local families are shaping the way that these centres will function so that they reflect the unique strengths of each neighbourhood. Over the coming months the focus will shift to developing the vision for each neighbourhood as well as a service plan that sets out the contributions of all of the community partners. With concrete plans in place, these …