2022-2023 Annual Report (CLUB)

Unbelievable Impact 2022 ANNUAL REPORT

John Hagarty

Opportunity Changes Everything

I am pleased to be able to provide my first message as the BGC Kawarthas Club President. I joined the Board last year as Vice-President and moved into the position as President this year. I have appreciated the guidance and support from former President Catherine Miller during this transition. The Board is full of dedicated individuals who give their time and energy to aid in the successful operation of the club.

I came to Kawartha Lakes in 2005 to fulfill the role of Chief of Police; it was at this time that I had my first introduction to the Boys and Girls Club organization. As a Police Chief and parent, I immediately saw the benefits of having such a positive, supportive, and safe environment for the youth in our community. I was able to see how, “Opportunity Changes Everything”. I have retired from policing and am currently theExecutive Director of Kawartha Haliburton Victim Services and continue to see how club involvement impacts the health and well-being of youth and families in our community. This has been a busy year for the club, and I would like to comment on a few key areas:

“$10 a Day Child Care”

Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care System (CWELCC). This was an anticipated and welcomed program for families. What isn’t seen is the significant amount of work required by staff in understanding how to administer it, even as governments were sorting implementation. Staff did a great job keeping the Board updated while focused on ensuring families were communicated with, received reimbursement cheques asap and invoiced for the appropriate amounts during the 5 years of the plan.

Skatepark

Our skatepark was funded by two major capital grants, the specifics of which I’m sure will be commented on by others. What impressed me as a Board member was the realization of the decade old vision through to implementation. This project was approximately one million dollars and required significant management oversight/logistical support. We received thorough and timely updates on the finances and stages of construction. Very pleased to say that it was completed on time and on budget. This didn’t happen by chance. It happened because of committed and dedicated staff.

Strategic Planning

We are excited to have developed a new strategic plan that highlights five priorities to guide our focus and decision-making for the next five years. This aspirational plan is a road map for us to deepen and expand our life-changing impact in the years ahead. Our vision – All children and youth discover and achieve their dreams and grow up to be healthy, successful, and active participants in society – continues to resonate as we look to the future, we want to build in the Kawarthas and surrounding regions.

Our Club is a busy one. Beyond what everyone sees externally there is a professional, dedicated, and caring team of staff led by our Executive Director Amy Terrill. As a Board member, I have experienced and witnessed the organization in a different way. Their attention to detail in reviewing policies, updating by-laws, and following best practices with an overarching focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion…is impressive. We as a community are served well by BGC Kawarthas Staff and Boards. As President, I want to take this opportunity to say thank you to everyone who plays a role in making BGC such an important part of our community.

Club Board President

Executive Director

Opportunity Changes Everything

At BGC Kawarthas, we set high expectations for 2022-23 as we emerged from COVID-19 with some bruises and a bit of post-traumatic stress, but largely in one piece. Many organizations in our sector have struggled with recruitment and retention challenges and while we have not been immune, we have remained fairly resilient by investing in our team in the 2nd year of our 5-year Living Wage program, and focusing on wellness initiatives. We are nothing without our people and we continue to work on a strong team culture so that we may meet the needs of our communities.

Goal number one was to return to full service for as many children, youth and families as possible. We restored programs that had been paused during COVID – like Kid Food Nation, youth programs and dinner in the Warehouse, our wide range of sports and recreation and targeted prevention curriculum like Take It Easy that we deliver to schools. We reopened childcare spaces in rooms that had been reduced in numbers due to health restrictions, our rural after school programs grew once more to capacity and we focused on rebuilding in Peterborough. We returned to our preferred delivery of inperson care, retaining only virtual programming where it proved better for our clients.

But it wasn’t enough to achieve pre-pandemic service levels. In 2022-23 we also responded to the evolving needs of children, youth and families who had suffered from turbulence and isolation. We built a new skatepark for skateboards, BMX bikes and scooters to create a safe place for all ages to try these sports. And subsequently, opened our doors to upwards of 100 new young people who came first to the park, and then, to the Youth Warehouse. We signed onto the new Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care program so that our families could benefit from lower fees. And we worked collectively to better incorporate Equity, Diversity and Inclusion into our policies and practices.

Throughout the year we measured our success through the BGC Canada-led Learning & Impact study – first through surveys of children and youth, and then interviews. From this we learned so much about where our programs have succeeded. For instance, 93% of children and youth say they are more active, and have a more positive influence on others, because of the Club. The study has given us many more insights as well and we continue to learn.

In the 4th quarter, we dug deeper into where we want to go next, as we embarked on a strategic planning exercise. More than 200 people engaged with the process and a 202328 Strategic Plan was approved in May. The five strategic priorities will guide our work. They are: Cultivate a Thriving Workplace; Deepen and Expand Life-Changing Impact; Foster a Culture of Belonging; Amplify the Voices of Children, Youth and Families; and Inspire Investments in BGC.

I want to personally thank all of our board members for their commitments to BGC Kawarthas, and to our amazing staff team – you make us all proud.

Amy Terrill

To provide safe, supportive places where children and youth can experience new opportunities, overcome barriers, build positive relationships, and develop confidence and skills for life.

mission our our

All children and youth discover and achieve their dreams and grow up to be healthy, successful, and active participants in society.

values our

We encourage and support every child and youth to play, learn, and grow to achieve their dreams.

belonging

We welcome everyone in a safe, accepting environment based on belonging and positive relationships.

We work together with young people, families, volunteers, our communities, and government.

encouragement and support working together speaking out respect

We ensure that everyone children, youth, families, volunteers, staff is heard, valued, and treated fairly.

We speak out for children, youth, and families so that we can make our world better.

before and after school programs homework

help digital literacy stem education

arts financial education music

dance theatre

virtual programming

summer camps

substance use & prevention

parenting education & support crime prevention

teen dating violence prevention restorative justice

scholarships indigenous initiatives & programs

job readiness

mental health & wellness

healthy snacks & meals

nutrition & food education

gardening

child care

physical fitness & sports transport

breakfast programs

mentoring volunteering

youth leadership

youth exchanges civic engagement

youth shelters & housing

Programs and Services Highlights

BGC Kawarthas offers a wide range of programs and services each year for children and youth from 12 months to 24 years

High Five Accreditation

Achieved - 19th anniversary as an accredited agency

Implemented CanadaWide Early Learning & Child Care program, known as the "$10/day child care"

Restored programs paused or moved online during COVID-19 including Kid Food Nation, Youth Dinner program, Holiday Family Dinner

Returned to Schools with Targeted Prevention programming

Began to rebuild Peterborough After School programs, delivered Kid Tech Nation there for the first time and summer camps in Norwood and Peterborough

Saw record numbers of participants in our wide range of sports programs for children, youth and adults

Grew Youth Services in response to the needs of youth including Youth Outreach and reduced barriers for access to the Youth Warehouse

The popular Coats for Kids campaign returned and provided 460 coats

Additional events and activities

The ing & t Project

022 was the first year of the Learning and Impact Project BGC Canada’s tool to prove and improve the impact of lubs across Canada, individually and collectively, hrough evaluation. This project equips Clubs to collect uantitative (survey) and qualitative (interview) data from hildren and youth

All BGC Clubs were invited to participate by deploying a national outcomes survey to Club children and youth ages eight and older.

Teams from 96% of full member BGC Clubs in Canada participated in the survey implementation.

5,774 youth were surveyed.

he data from the Learning & Impact project points to the ansformational impact a Club has in a young person’s fe BGC Club youth are more confident, more resilient, nd make better choices.

Because o BGC Kawa

96% of kids say they have more people they like to spend time with

94 of kids say they are more excite new things.

93% of kids say they are more physically active

89 say they are more comfortab themselves 2022

hygiene products for families and youth

individuals supported in Christmas hampers

91 Coats for Kids (and Adults too) + mitts & hats

backpacks for back to school

460

12 families supported with weekly food deliveries

2 new food pantries

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Indigenous Engagement

BGC Kawarthas joined our national body on a journey into equity, diversity and inclusion, as well as progress towards truth and reconciliation transitionning from Boys and Girls Clubs of Kawartha Lakes, demonstrating to youth that they are welcomed and valued at BGC Clubs, regardless of their identity, background or circumstances.

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion& Indigenous Engagement

Organizational selfassessment completed to identify key areas of improvement

Regional partnership to hire consultant who provided leadership coaching and a community of practice

Calendar developed to identify key events, holidays and days of recognition related to diverse communities

Land Acknowledgement added to website and shared at all staff and board meetings and special events

Land Acknowledgement trainings taken by multiple staff and board members

Warehouse Youth Centre engagement with local elders and knowledge keepers for programming and guest speakers

Club Board member participates on BGC Canada Indigenous Advisory Circle (IAC)

First Staff Identity Survey completed to better understand who we are, lived experience and how well we represent our community

Investing in Team

In 2022, BGC Kawarthas invested in our team members through targeted wage and salary increases in Year 2 of our Living Wage program, training and development, and wellness initiatives. These are some of our highlights.

Five staff were certified to facilitate Cope 2 Thrive - Cognitive Behaviour Therapy.

With support of the CKL Family Health Team, staff received mental health and substance use training.

Volunteers were recognized during Volunteer Week with gifts made by children in our programs

Nutrition stations were established to support employee wellness.

A virtual Kindness Board supported team members and participants during Pink Shirt Day. Staff attended conferences relating to leadership, networking and learning related to their program specialties.

Staff were trained by Challenges Unlimited to support the climbing wall and low ropes.

Children's Services team members worked together to develop their operational priorities.

2023-28 Strategic Plan

BGC Kawarthas and BGC Kawarthas Foundation are excited to launch a new strategic plan that highlights five priorities to guide our focus and decision-making for the next five years, from 2023 to 2028. The plan was co-created by our Boards of Directors and senior staff team

Systems and strategies are in place to support an engaged, motivated and positive organizational culture.

Be a leader in applying Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) principles and practices across all areas of the organization.

Monitor, strengthen and expand programs, services and partnerships to meet the needs of the children, youth and families.

Encourage a culture that ensures sustainability, generates and diversifies funding, and helps reduce barriers for children, youth and families.

Amplify the Voices of Children, Youth & Families

Raise awareness about the experiences of children, youth and families, and advocate for support of their needs.

Cultivate a Thriving Workplace Foster a Culture of Belonging

Deepen & Expand Life Changing Impact

Inspire Investments in BGC

Club & Foundation Boards

Club President

John Hagarty

Vice President

Dianna Scates

Treasurer

Michelle Finley

Secretary

Wilma Lynch

Past President

Catherine Miller

Directors

Lynda Craven

Manju Asdhir

Steve Green

Kyley Stevenson

Laraine Hale

Brandon Clarkson

Foundation

President

Geoff Grier

Vice President

Greg Murphy

Treasurer

Laurie Charlebois

Secretary

Richard Christie Directors

Broghan Dean

Krystina Cunnington

Julie Yandt

Vince Killen

Honorary Members

Emily Avery-Graves

Greg Walling

Thank You

to our partners for their outstanding commitment to changing young lives

Peterborough Family Resource