All In for Youth
Ten Years of
Building Bright Futures
2012-13 to 2022-23
Since its launch in 2012, All In for Youth has established 36,084 positive adult-youth connections, playing a key role in increasing high school completion rates in Calgary.
Compared to youth who attain a high school diploma, youth who do not earn less and are more likely to be unemployed and need to access social assistance. Students who complete high school are in a better position and are more inclined to transition to post-secondary education, training, or career development; doors are opened to a wider range of employment and career opportunities, higher salaries, and overall brighter futures.
The year before United Way launched All In for Youth in two Calgary high schools in 2012-13, Alberta had one of the lowest high school completion rates in Canada. At the end of All In for Youth’s first year, 75 per cent of Alberta youth were completing high school on time (within three years of starting grade 10). Almost a decade later, thanks in part to All In for Youth’s mission to increase Calgary’s high school completion rates, that number rose to 86 per cent for Calgary students in the 2020-21 school year.
Starting with two high schools, United Way and All In for Youth’s partners – investigated the root causes preventing youth from completing high school. They identified barriers to success – like academic challenges, mental health issues, and a lack of positive supports – and developed programs and strategies to address those barriers, including Success Coaches, financial assistance and bursaries, and tutoring. Over the years, these innovative solutions to help youth stay in and complete school on time, and successfully transition to the workforce and adulthood expanded. With its inspired combination of committed youth, generous and thoughtful donors, and dedicated volunteers and partners, All In for Youth connects youth to positive adults, removes financial and social barriers to high school completion, and introduces students to varied paths of learning and success post-grade 12.
United Way’s All In for Youth initiative is in 35 high schools and 12 junior high schools in Calgary
10 Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) high schools
11 CCSD junior high schools
25 Calgary Board of Education (CBE) high schools
1 CBE junior high school
What’s being done
All In for Youth works with schools, government, corporations, agencies, and individuals to build a system of supports to help youth reach their potential.
Watch some of the impact from this village of partners and supports.
Our goals
How we help youth succeed
All In for Youth helps youth succeed by creating positive adult-youth connections and removing barriers that often prevent high school completion and the successful transition into further education, employment or training. When youth have positive social support networks, they are better equipped to develop skills, be independent and confident, complete high school and pursue long-term goals. The costs associated with non-completion of high school affect more than just the individual. For every youth that doesn’t graduate, it costs society $18,301 annually in loss of wages, in increased use of social assistance and health care, increased crime rates, and tax revenue loss.
All In for Youth increases high school completion rates through:
Academic Supports
As youth pursue their academic studies, additional services and resources are sometimes required to support the progression of their studies and the development of healthy homework skills. The supports come in many forms, including bursaries, which alleviate financial pressures on youth, leaving them more time to dedicate to their studies and prepare for life and career post-graduation.
Success Coaches
Support youth in the development of academic and life plans and connect them with resources for homework and academic support (such as tutors) and supports for mental well-being.
Community Coach
Supports and guides recent high school graduates as they plan their future post-secondary education, employment and training opportunities.
Junior High School Navigator
Navigators support junior high school students in the development of effective homework skills and routines.
Math/Science Tutors
Tutors provide additional teaching and exercises, etc. to supplement and expand upon areas of study where students require a little more support to achieve success.
SAIT Bissett Bursary / Bow Valley College Bissett Bursary
Supported by Calgary philanthropist David Bissett, these bursaries provide valuable financial assistance to help cover tuition and mandatory fees.
Additional tutoring and academic supports
These supports include individual tutoring in classes other than math and science; and support with STEM-based studies.
Today’s youth face many complex challenges and barriers to achieving success. The following All In for Youth programs and services ensure more youth are equipped with the tools and skills they need to envision their futures and set and accomplish goals:
Success Coaches
Support youth in the development of academic and life plans and connect them with resources for homework and academic support (such as tutors) and supports for mental well-being.
Community Coach
Supports and guides recent high school graduates as they plan their future post-secondary education, employment and training opportunities.
Junior High School Navigator
Supports students as they transition from grade 9 into high school.
Barrier Removal Funds
These funds are used to remove financial barriers to student progress in learning, such as transportation costs, accessing medical services, purchasing school supplies and food security.
High School Bursary Program
Provides basic living allowance to Grade 12 students.
School Supplies
Each school year, several businesses donate school supplies and backpacks which get distributed to schools with youth in need.
Mental Health Supports
All In for Youth partner agencies offer counselling and resiliency programming to equip youth with the skills they need to develop healthy relationships and positive, social emotional skills.
Youth Programs
Youth can join various programs, including mentorship, music development, and recreation, where they can build strong connections with one another and within their community.
By learning what matters to youth, we can help them achieve their personal, educational and professional goals. This includes sharing information on a variety of career options and helping kids get on the path to success. Projects in this area include:
By learning what’s important to youth – what they care about – we can help them set and achieve their personal, educational, and professional goals. The following programs provide youth with information on a variety of career options and opportunities, helping and encouraging them to plan (and dream) their futures:
Turning Points
Helps at-risk youth explore a variety of post-secondary career options available at SAIT.
SAIT Foundations in Culinary Trade Program
A Cook Apprentice program that teaches foundational cooking techniques for a successful culinary future.
NPower Junior IT Analyst Program
Delivered in partnership with Google, this program equips youth with skills for tech-enabled jobs.
Success Coaches
Support youth in the development of academic and life plans and connect them with resources for homework and academic support (such as tutors) and supports for mental well-being.
Community Coach
Supports and guides recent high school graduates as they plan their future post-secondary education, employment and training opportunities.
Employment Programs
Programs offered by agencies that introduce youth to employment opportunities and build general skill sets needed across the workforce.
Career Information
All In for Youth partner agencies help youth explore a variety of careers and the skills and aptitudes best suited to each field or endeavour.
Reports & Publications
Results that matter
- When All In for Youth began in the 2012-13 school year, it had a goal to create 3,000 positive adult-youth connections within its first five years.
- By All In for Youth’s 10th year, 36,084 positive adult-youth connections had been created.
- By the 2022-23 school year, 1,406 All In for Youth volunteers had donated 33,399 hours of their time and expertise to the YMCA Calgary Tutoring Table.
- A 42% increase in school attendance by tutored students was reported in the 2022-23 school year.
Three-Year Graduation Rates
2011-12: 75% of Alberta students completed high school on time.*
2016-17: 81% of Calgary students completed high school on time.**
2020-21: 86% of Calgary students completed high school on time.**
Internal References:
*Calgary Rate Published by Government of Alberta
**Calgary Rate Published by Government of Alberta
See the lives changed
Take action for youth
By getting involved in a young person’s life and path of education, your support could make the difference between a student completing high school, or not. Read further to find out more about All In for Youth’s volunteer math and science tutors.
Math and Science Tutors
Since 2013-14, when the YMCA Calgary Tutoring Table began, it has evolved to include STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) tutoring, with volunteers from Fluor Canada Inc. joining YMCA Calgary Tutoring Table volunteers. 5,011 students have benefitted from the Table’s tutoring and study support since the program began.
All In for Youth Partners
School Partners
All Saints High School
Bishop Carroll High School
Bishop McNally High School
Bishop O’Byrne High School
Bowness High School
Learn High School (CBE)
Centennial High School
Central Memorial High School
Chinook Learning Services (CBE)
Crescent Heights High School
Discovering Choices High School
Dr. E P Scarlett High School
Father Lacombe High School
Forest Lawn High School
Henry Wise Wood High School
Jack James High School
James Fowler High School
Joane Cardinal-Schubert High School
John G Diefenbaker High School
Lester B Pearson High School
Lord Beaverbrook High School
Nelson Mandela High School
Notre Dame High School
Our Lady of the Rockies High School
Robert Thirsk High School
Sir Winston Churchill High School
St. Anne Academic Centre
St. Francis High School
St. Mary’s High School
Ian Bazalgette Junior High School (JHS Navigator program)
Collaborative AIFY Partners
Antyx
carya
CIWA (Calgary Immigrants Women’s Association)
ComIT
Community Futures Treaty 7
FearIsNotLove (former Calgary Women’s Emergency Shelter)
Hull Services
JASA (Junior Achievement Southern Alberta)
Joy To Job
Kindred
Lionheart Foundation
Miskanawah Momentum
NSTEP
Prospect Human Services
Roots 2 Stem
Sankofa Foundation of Canada
SSY (Stars for Scholarly Youth)
Wood’s Homes
Community Partners
Burns Memorial Fund
Trellis Society
NPower Canada
YMCA Calgary
Education & System Partners
Calgary Board of Education
Calgary Catholic School District
Bow Valley College
SAIT
Government Partners
The following government partners have supported All In for Youth:
The Government of Alberta
The Government of Canada
The City of Calgary
contributions