In this Issue
- Profile: Street Culture Kidz
- Canadian CED Network News
- Northern Territories CED News
- CED Tool
- National CED News
- Job Postings
Profile: Street Culture Kidz Project
Some people might dismiss face painting as child’s play. If you ask the Street Culture Kidz Project (SCK), that’s exactly what it should be. Established in 1997 as a temporary summer project in Regina’s inner city, SCK has developed into an independent non-profit and community development leader. With the goal of helping underserved youth, SCK delivers long-term programs that respond to the needs expressed by the participants themselves. Programs are often arts-based, but are more generally designed to develop employment skills, provide personal support, and encourage community contributions.
Between 25 and 40 youth participate regularly in SCK, while several hundred more pass through their doors every year. The enthusiastic support of its patrons is due to the Project’s unique youth engagement strategies; the Project follows a holistic approach to personal development. Young artists not only participate as entertainers and face artists at community events; they also plan, develop, and implement their own recreational activities.
The creative experience is enhanced by a variety of other skill development programs. These include event co-ordination; yard and building maintenance; and the Odd Job Squad. The Street Culture Catering Service, a recent expansion of the organizations' economic development initiatives, offers young people the chance to learn culinary skills while gaining valuable experience in the food services and marketing industries. While social ventures help to support the Project's many programs, it also gives SCK an opportunity to hire over 40 youth annually, many of whom would otherwise be considered unemployable in traditional labour markets. “When we look at the young people we serve, we see people with enthusiasm and talent, who only require solid leadership and management," says Project CEO Kim Sutherland.
All of the youth who work at Street Culture are paid employees of the organization. For many, this is their first ‘real’ job. For the community, it marks an investment through the tax base that will be repaid 10-fold over the lifetime of the young person who may have, without intervention, continued a cycle of reliance.
SCK understands that personal growth requires long-term personal support. Their Studio provides social connections through drop-in activities, help with homework, and thoughtful discussions. Upon request, staff from Street Culture will support their participants by visiting them in custody facilities and attending court proceedings.
For SCK, pallets of paint, and buckets of brushes are powerful tools to provide Saskatchewan’s disenfranchised youth with a safe, confidence-boosting alternative. By nurturing artistic talents, providing personal support, and encouraging work ethic, SCK is building stronger and safer communities in Regina’s inner city.
For more information:
Kim Sutherland
CEO, Street Culture Kidz
streetculture@sasktel.net
Canadian CED Network News
CCEDNet on Facebook & YouTube
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Northern Territories CED News
New NGO Training Fund
In mid-November, the Yukon Government introduced the Non-Governmental Organization Training Fund, designed to designed to assist NGOs in achieving their mandates, improving their organizational capacity, and enhancing their accountability. Volunteer Yukon will be administering the $50,000 fund by providing customized training opportunities for Yukon’s non-profit sector. All registered Yukon-based non-profit organizations are eligible to receive funding for a maximum of $5000 per project.
For more information on the fund or to download an application package, visit Volunteer Yukon’s website.
Change in the North
There are many exciting CED initiatives currently underway in the North. Territorial governments and communities are engaging in dialogues about tackling poverty and building prosperity with a focus on social inclusion. Each territory’s approach is unique, but they address similar issues such as: rural and remote communities; engaging all voices in the dialogue; and, understanding the connected issues of poverty and social inclusion. In the following articles, the people who are directly involved in CED organizations explain their programs and goals. Source: Tamarack Institute December Newsletter
Yukon: Sarah Lindstein, Social Inclusion & Poverty Reduction Strategy
The Office of Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction is committed to building a strategy that addresses issues of social inclusion in government programs and services. Our government departments advise and guide our work on the strategy, and our collaboration with the NGO community has proved extremely valuable. We also work together with local interest groups to create a strategy that makes sense for our community. A Better Yukon for all Yukoners is our goal, and we have worked at collecting data to inform the work on the strategy.
The data is comprised of a series of reports, from the narrative In Their Words Report in which we recorded stories from front-line workers and the public, to the all-encompassing Dimensions of Social Inclusion and Exclusion in the Yukon 2010 that examines the many variables that can cause issues of social exclusion and the 2010 Yukon Housing Adequacy Study. We anticipate a June 2011 release for the strategy.
Northwest Territories: Craig Yeo, Alternatives North
The Government of the Northwest Territories has agreed to produce a discussion paper and consult with territorial residents on an anti-poverty strategy prior to the next territorial election, scheduled for October 3, 2011. Government also helped fund the territorial No Place for Poverty Anti-Poverty Workshop in Yellowknife from October 5 to 7, 2010. Representatives drawn from the 29 NWT organizations now calling for a strategy worked with NWT and national political leaders; service providers; and, anti-poverty advocates to start a dialogue about poverty issues and priorities. Workshop recommendations ask government, business, communities and non-government organizations to work in partnership at the community level on a strategy based in legislation.
Nunavut: Ed McKenna, Nunavut Anti-Poverty Secretariat
Nunavut launched its public engagement process for poverty reduction in a joint announcement by Premier Aariak and James Eetoolook, Acting President of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI) on October 18, 2010. In the media conference, Nunavut’s Minister of Economic Development & Transportation, together with representatives of the executive board of NTI, the business community and the non-profit sector, pledged to work together; take responsibility for their part in poverty reduction efforts in the territory; and, make decisions about the content of Nunavut’s Poverty Reduction Action Plan by consensus. The plan will be completed within a year, following a three-stage public engagement process, which began on November 1, 2010 in each of Nunavut’s 25 far-flung communities.
CED Tool
Developed by Enterprising Non-Profits, this toolkit has been designed to help you understand the fundamentals of marketing, and to apply them in your social enterprise. It's divided into four modules, each of which is presented in a video. During each module, you'll be invited to complete exercises, either yourself, or with your team, and a series of worksheets are included to help you. The videos are most useful when viewed in sequence, but you can come back to any or all of them to refresh your memory, or to dive more deeply into some of the exercises.
Click here for all four video modules and an easy-to-use workbook to help you through the exercises.
National CED News
Deconstructing Dinner Podcast
Follow this link for a podcast featuring an interview with Joel Salatin, sustainable farming advocate and author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Also included in the episode is a lecture by Judy Rebick, in which she encourages farmers to embrace a bottom-up and community-centred approach to begin better serving consumer needs
Impact! Youth Conference for Sustainability Leadership
This free, bilingual conference is now accepting registrations from university and college students from across the country. In September 2011, 165 students will gather together to explore real sustainability solutions and develop lasting networks with national business and sustainability leaders.
Date & Time: September 15-18, 2011
Location: Guelph, Ontario
More information: Visit the Impact! Website
Non-Profits Making Profits
On May 10, 2010, the Social Enterprise Council of Canada presented the first in a series of webinars entitled "Nonprofits Making Profits: Social Enterprise and Legal Issues in Canada". The webinar put into context the current legal issues surrounding nonprofits and social enterprises, and discussed what types of incorporation structures are currently legal and in use in various parts of Canada. Source: enp December Newsletter
Click here to view the webinar
Tips for Merchandising NGOs
Fairware is a Vancouver-based provider of promotional products that sources social and environmentally responsible products. To satisfy a common customer demand, the company recently published 10 pointers to help non-profits in launching branding strategies. The tips are designed for organizations considering merchandise sales - either directed at end consumers (retail sales) or directed at internal buyers. Source: enp December Newsletter
The 10 tips are available on Fairware’s blog
jobsHere – An Economic Plan for Nova Scotia
The Nova Scotia Government produced the jobsHere report as a roadmap to economic growth in the province. The document cites the need for business innovation and skills development in order to remain competitive in the global market place. More specifically, the report acknowledges the role of that social enterprises must play in ensuring a healthy, sustainable, and prosperous economy, and states that the government will work to improve business environments to foster social enterprises. Source: enp December Newsletter
Click here to download the full report
Social Finance Task Force Report
The Canadian Task Force on Social Finance has called for action to give social enterprises - including co-operatives - greater access to investment capital and a favourable regulatory and tax environment. In its report, the Task Force makes a number of recommendations aimed at strengthening Canada's social enterprise sector. They included the creation of tax incentives for social enterprise investors, expansion of government-sponsored business development programs to include social enterprises and the development of new "bond-like instruments" to channel capital into effective social and environmental interventions.
Click here for the full report
Procurement Policy Across the Pond
As Canada continues to explore multi-bottom line purchasing policies, the United Kingdom has drawn one step closer to adopting a unique public service procurement bill. The British government recently announced that it will support a private member’s bill – the Social Enterprise and Social Value Bill - which will require public sector contracts to factor in social outcomes alongside price and an organisation’s ethical track record. The Bill aims to strengthen the social enterprise business sector and make the concept of 'social value' more relevant and important in the placement and provision of public services. The Bill has passed through its second reading, and is heading to the Committee Stage in the new year.
Job Postings
For the latest CED postings visit the National and Regional job pages on CCEDNet's website
National | AB | SK | MB | North
Positions to post? Send them to breimer@ccednet-rcdec.ca