Challenge Question
How might social enterprise help youth gain much-needed skills and work experience?
Partner: Moorelands Kids
Project Summary
75% of the children in the communities we serve at Moorelands Kids are living below the poverty line. Poverty continues to have a negative impact on high-school graduation rates and long-term socio-economic success. Each year our life-changing summer camp, after-school, and family programs support more than 2000 Toronto children facing economic barriers, at nominal or no cost to participants. Our purpose is to equip children and youth with the skills they need to succeed, but we also know that young people are looking for work experience and income. The goal of this project is for a diverse team of student researchers to explore how social enterprise can provide youth with both the much-needed skills they need to succeed in a changing world, and the work experience and income they long for. The team will explore how Moorelands Kids’ initiatives can engage with business models that are driven by both social causes and profits to offer an additional avenue of support and resources to our participants. Interested students might have backgrounds in youth and community engagement, business/economics, human resources, and the social sciences. Team members might also be interested in issues related to poverty and marginalization, and excellent organization and communication skills are a bonus.
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Partner Video
Organizational Profile
Moorelands Kids is an innovative charity working to empower children from low-income Toronto neighbourhoods to transform their lives. We believe that every child has strengths, regardless of their life circumstances, but children from low-income families face opportunity gaps and other barriers to success. For the children we work with, poverty is much more than just financial, impacting self-esteem, social interactions, relationships, and mental and physical health. Our recreation-based leadership programs use our unique and proven Moorelands Kids’ Habits & Qualities, an approach rooted in positive youth development and the latest advances in childhood education. We provide programs for both summer camps and after-school settings to offer year-round experiences where children can learn, practice, and benefit from valuable life and leadership skills. We set the stage for children as young as six to become leaders—first for themselves and then in their communities—so that they are equipped with the tools they need to succeed and live positive, healthy lives.
Partner Website
Learn more about the kind of work the project partner does by browsing their website.
Additional Resources
Social Enterprise Toronto Resources
39 Social Impact Investing Ventures Changing the World Through Finance
Key Words
- Youth
- Social Enterprise
- Employment Opportunity
- Ontario
- Poverty