OUT OF SCHOOL TIME COLLABORATIVE

As part of the All In For Youth initiative, REACH acts as the backbone to the OST Collaborative, which is a partnership of community groups, community leaders, service delivery agencies, and local institutions that 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, and be more engaged in their local communities
• 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

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