Spirit of the Capital Youth Awards!

Click here (http://vimeo.com/21215172) to watch the Spirit of the Capital Youth Awards new Promotional Video, produced by Sara Cornthwaite, Sean Hockey, Eryn McCarthy and Lindsay Armstrong. 

There are only 8 days left to nominate someone for this year’s awards – the deadline for submissions is April 1st, 2011, at midnight.

If you know any outstanding young people 21 years of age or less who are making waves in the community, overcoming personal obstacles, and inspiring those around them, make sure they know it! Nominate them for a Spirit of the Capital Youth Award today at www.spiritawards.ca

For information on award categories eligibility, and criteria please see the full 2011 Nomination Package on our website. Tickets for the May 30th event are also on sale at www.spiritawards.ca

Contact Us:

By email: spirit@cayfo.ca

Own Your Education!

Breakdancing, beatboxing and graffiti…OH MY! Not what you’d expect from an Education Conference, but then again For Youth, By Youth is not your typical Educational group. On March 1^st FYBY held a Summit at Confederation High School titled “Own Your Education” which brought together educators and students from around our community to discuss mental health and wellness in the school system. Groups from Notre Dame, Rideau, Longfield Davidson Heights and Holy Trinity High Schools created videos and facilitated workshops on areas in mental health such as stress, career paths, making good decisions and youth engagement which were presented to the over 150 students and educators in attendance.  This was a great opportunity to see the impact of peer-to-peer education and to see students take ownership of their education.

Here is a link from Metro who attended the Summit as well: http://www.metronews.ca/ottawa/local/article/789609–summit-gives-youth-a-voice

You can check out all the latest information on FYBY and see all the videos that were created for and at the event  http://www.fybynews.com/

Volunteer Opportunities

CAYFO is looking for dedicated and hardworking young people to volunteer on our program committees. Youth involved will get to build skills, learn new things and meet great people!

Also, our Board of Directors is recruiting new adult members to join our dynamic team. Please email executive@cayfo.ca for more details on the available positions and the application process.

Ottawa Youth Commission – Info Session on December 7th

The Ottawa Youth Commission provides youth with the opportunity to have an impact on issues related to Ottawa. We make opinions, concerns and suggestions of youth heard on a variety of issues that affect their lives by representing their voice at City Hall.

Come to our info session to learn more about what we do and the opportunities available to get involved in!

DATE: Tuesday, December 7, 2010
TIME: 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM
LOCATION: Ottawa City Hall, Colonel By Room

Please e-mail youth@cayfo.ca to R.S.V.P. or get more information!

FYBY News – Accepting Volunteer Applications

FYBY News provides Ottawa’s youth with the chance to acquire knowledge about issues, opportunities and resources relevant to them, and share this knowledge with other youth members through the production of videos.

Positions we are recruiting for:
Creative Director
Creative Video Producers
Production Assistants
Marketing Officer
Social Media Officer
Youth Engagement Officers
Special Events Coordinators

To learn more about what these positions entail and how to apply click here.

For more information please e-mail info@fybynews.com or visit www.fybynews.com

Spirit of the Capital Youth Awards

The Spirit Awards youth planning committee is already hard at work planning this year’s awards gala that will be held in late May 2011. Stay tuned for the opening of nominations. Visit www.spiritawards.ca for more information or e-mail spirit@cayfo.ca.

For more information on any of the above please email: volunteer@cayfo.ca

Starting School on the Right Page!

Usually, when school lets out for summer the last thing on the minds of student’s and parent’s alike is back to school shopping for September (though, these days office supplies stores tend to cater to those who like to get things done really early). Here at CAYFO that is not the case … we are thinking school supplies and back to school ALL YEAR LONG. I know it seems crazy, BUT we are focused on back to school for a very good reason: we want to ensure that all Ottawa kids start each school year equipped with all the supplies they need to help them succeed. This is not an easy feat, but with the help of the Ottawa community we can do our best to make it happen.

The end of summer is inevitably looming, despite what most kids (and many adults) want to hear. The school year (yes, the “s” word!) is fast approaching. While its always hard to wave goodbye to summer (after, of course, we enjoy the next few weeks of fun!), many of us must admit that there is something exciting about starting fresh and going back to school on the first day with all the new supplies for the year. Getting to put all those new supplies to use definitely helped ease me through the “summer to school” transition each year. Many kids in Ottawa though do not have the opportunity to start school with all the supplies that are requested by schools and teachers.

When I started volunteering at CAYFO three summer’s ago, I was exposed to the reality of how many kids in Ottawa need our support to ensure that they have school supplies, and I sheepishly admit to being shocked. The demand since then has only increased, and with full-day kindergarten gearing up in the fall along with the onset of HST taxation, we have received over 5000 requests for supplies. We are working tirelessly to bring in all the donations and supplies – but we REALLY need your help, as only 1000 kits have been distributed already.

You have the chance to help Ottawa kids start the school year with the supplies they need. Can you rise to the challenge and help us?

Donations can be made online through our website or you can drop off supplies at one of our many drop off locations (visit www.cayfo.ca to check them all out).

Every little bit helps, thanks for your support and for spreading the word!

TOOLS 4 SCHOOL – 2010 CAMPAIGN NEEDS YOUR HELP

The new school year is fast approaching and all school-aged Ottawa area children and youth deserve to succeed in school and Child and Youth Friendly Ottawa needs your help to fill the 5000 requests!

Approximately 4000 children and youth in the Ottawa area will return to school this fall without basic school supplies – help us to make sure that this does not happen!

Child & Youth Friendly Ottawa’s (CAYFO) Tools4School program sets out to combat this issue by collecting new and gently used school supplies and financial donations in order to help provide the thousands of children in Ottawa who need school supplies. Being equipped with the right supplies has been proven to help children succeed in school and improve self confidence. To date we have raised just over $10,000 and provided kits enough for 1000 children, but that is not enough to fill the near 5000 requests we have received from community agencies on behalf of individuals in need.

Despite the hard work over the summer months the demand for supplies far exceeds what we have been able to collect and distribute. Now that we are nearing the beginning of school, we are in a crisis situation for school supplies. Donate gently used or new supplies at one of our many drop-off locations or monetary through our website! Monetary donations will be used to buy school supply kits from our partner, Best Tools for Schools. Visit www.cayfo.ca to see the list of our drop-off locations and go to https://www.canadahelps.org/DonationDetails.aspx?cookieCheck=true to donate!

Help us to reach our goals and ensure that all children are given the opportunity to succeed in school right from the beginning! At CAYFO we believe that no student’s academic success should be impeded by financial status.

Thanks for your support!