This past Friday, we celebrated the launch of the 2023 Youth Futures program. This year we are excited to welcome 150 youth participants and thank the over 250 applicants for their interest in the program.  

The Youth Futures program is delivered in collaboration with the City of Ottawa, Ottawa Community Housing Foundation, and BGC Ottawa, with the goal of providing all participants with leadership skills, mentorship support, employment training, and information regarding post-secondary pathways. This program is offered at no cost to participants.  

“As a former mentor in the Youth Futures program, I witnessed firsthand the power of creating a safe and supportive space for our youth to learn and grow. Through this program, we are not only investing in their future, but we are also building stronger and more resilient communities, where young people can overcome challenges, realize their full potential, and make meaningful contributions to society.” – Taha Tariq, former Youth Futures Mentor 

This milestone year, we celebrate 15 years of Youth Futures and the evolution of the program from initially a two-week program with 25 participants to a 6-month bilingual program with 1,324 graduates to date. 

“As the Program Coordinator for the Youth Futures Program, I am thrilled to be a part of celebrating 15 years of Youth Futures! The entire Youth Futures team believes that every young person has the potential to achieve great things, and we are dedicated to helping them realize their dreams. Through our partnerships with local businesses and community organizations, we are creating a network of support that will help our youth overcome obstacles and achieve their goals.” – Ayane Bouh, Youth Futures Program Coordinator 

In 2021, OCH Foundation received a two-year commitment of $150,000 from Royal Bank of Canada through its Future Launch initiative. In 2022, The Rideau Hall Foundation’s Catapult initiative committed $145,000 over two years.   

“We extend our sincere gratitude to the RBC Foundation and Catapult Rideau Hall Foundation for their generous contributions and continued support. We are committed to building a brighter, more inclusive, and equitable future for all members of our community through this exceptional program.” – Angela Bégin, OCH Foundation Executive Director 

For more information on the Youth Futures program and to get involved, please visit the Youth Futures website at www.youth-futures.com.    

About the OCH Foundation 

Committed to the 32,000 tenants living in Ottawa Community Housing, the OCH Foundation helps families, youth and children achieve personal success through education, employment and community engagement projects. The Foundation has raised over 6 million dollars since its inception which has been redistributed through tenant focused programs and initiatives.   

About Youth Futures  

Youth Futures is a program led by the City of Ottawa and BGC Ottawa that breaks down barriers to post-secondary education and employment faced by marginalized and equity deserving youth. Each year, more than 200 youth apply to participate in the six-month bilingual program. It provides mentoring and leadership training as well as job placement opportunities for students from low-income communities. The goal is to provide support to students and help them succeed in their post-secondary education and employment.     

About RBC Future Launch Program  

RBC Future Launch is a 10-year, $500 million commitment to empower Canadian youth for the jobs of tomorrow. With a focus on networking, skills development, practical work experience and mental wellbeing supports and services, the initiative aims to help break down the barriers facing young people. In 2020, RBC committed to providing $50 million in focused funding through RBC Future Launch to create meaningful and transformative pathways to prosperity for up to 25,000 BIPOC youth by 2025, with investments in areas such as skills development and mentoring. 

About Catapult  

Catapult Canada is a national platform and community that aims to increase equity of access to learning opportunities for youth. It does this by channeling resources to community programs, providing funding, building evaluation frameworks, and facilitating partnerships, in order to build the capacity and infrastructure of charities and non-profits increasing access to learning. For smaller organizations and communities, Catapult will reduce their isolation and bring them into a broader community of success and knowledge sharing. Powered by the Rideau Hall Foundation, Catapult provides valuable and up-to-date resources ranging from new funding opportunities to evaluation support, new research on promising practices, and more.   

For more information please contact:   

Briar Gornall | Communications and Engagement Coordinator  Briar.Gornall@ochfoundation.ca