OUT OF SCHOOL TIME COLLABORATIVE

As part of the All In For Youth initiative, REACH acts as the backbone to the OST Collaborative. This is a partnership of:

• Community groups

• Community leaders

• Service delivery agencies

• Local institutions

They have been working together since 2008. The purpose of the OST Collaborative is to improve the resiliency of children and youth through widely accessible and quality out-of-school time programs.

INITIATIVE GOALS

• To create opportunities for children, youth, and their families to:
  • Become more actively involved in their communities.
  • Experience greater academic success.
  • Develop an enhanced sense of belonging and identity.
• To support and offer capacity building opportunities to local and community groups that are offering this out-of-school time programming.
• To create an environment where shared knowledge and best practices enable the delivery of quality programming.

OUTCOMES

• Improve communications, linkages, and engagement among partners and key community stakeholders.
• Provide year-round support to Out of School Time (OST) community groups offering programming for children and youth.
• Build on the 2016 IRCC federal funding opportunity that served the needs of mainly Syrian children and youth. This funding has allowed 13 OST partners to provide year-round programming for newcomer children and youth.