All In for Youth Changing the lives of Calgary youth
Completing high school opens doors to better jobs, higher wages, and acts as a gateway to post-secondary institutions. In Calgary, however, many youths are not graduating from high school on time (within three years of starting Grade 10). Academic challenges, mental health issues, and a lack of positive supports prevent many young Calgarians from graduating with their classmates.
In 2012, 25 per cent of Calgary youth were not completing high school on time. In 2022, that number has been reduced to 14 per cent thanks in part to All In for Youth, a city-wide initiative focused on increasing high school completion rates.
All In for Youth applies innovative solutions to help youth stay in school, complete school, and successfully transition to the workforce and adulthood. It does this by connecting youth to positive adults, removing financial and social barriers to high school completion, providing one-on-one support, and encouraging varied paths of learning and success after completing grade 12.
Currently, United Way’s All In for Youth initiative is in 29 Calgary high schools:
10 Calgary Catholic High Schools
19 Calgary Public High Schools
Since its launch in 2012, All In for Youth has established 29,151 positive adult-youth connections, playing a key role in increasing high school completion rates in Calgary.
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.
Funded Partner Agencies
- Trellis Society
- YMCA
- NPower
- SAIT
- Bow Valley College
- Burns Memorial Fund
Non-Funded Partner Agencies
- ANTYX
- Carya
- CIWA
- comIT
- Community Futures Treaty 7
- FearIsNotLove
- Hull Services
- Joy To Job
- Junior Achievement Southern Alberta
- Kindred (formerly Catholic Family Services)
- Lionheart Foundation
- Miskanawah
- Momentum
- NSTEP Canada
- Prospect Human Services
- Roots2Stem
- Sankofa Arts & Music Foundation
- Stars for Scholarly Youth (SSY)
- Wood’s Homes
Results that matter
- All In for Youth fostered 4,522 positive adult-youth connections in 2021-2022.
- Since it began in 2012, All In for Youth has resulted in 29,151 positive adult-youth connections.
- Over the 10-year lifetime of All In for Youth, 3,996 volunteers have donated 127,915 hours to tutor and support Calgary’s youth.
Three-Year Graduation Rates
2011-2012: 25% of youth did not complete high school*
2015-2016: 19.2% of youth did not complete high school**
2019-2020: 13.7%of youth did not complete high school**
Internal References:
*Calgary Rate Published by Government of Alberta
**Calgary Rate Published by Government of Alberta
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, or not completing high school. Read further to find out more about All In for Youth’s volunteer Math Tutors.
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
cbeLearn
Centennial High School
Central Memorial High School
Chinook Learning Services
Crescent Heights High School
Discovering Choices High School
Dr. E. P. Scarlett High School
Father Lacombe High School
Forest Lawn High School
Our Lady of the Rockies High School (formerly Bishop Grandin H.S. and Haysboro Catholic 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
Robert Thirsk High School
Sir Winston Churchill High School
St. Anne Academic Centre
St. Francis High School
St. Mary’s High School
Community Partners
Burns Memorial Fund
NPower Canada
Trellis Society
YMCA Calgary
Education and System Partners
Calgary Board of Education
Calgary Catholic School District
Bow Valley College
Education Matters
SAIT Polytechnic
Government Partners
The following government partners have supported All In for Youth at various points in its lifetime:
The Government of Alberta
The Government of Canada
The City of Calgary
Corporate Partners
All In for Youth has benefitted greatly from partnerships with the following corporate and foundation donors at various points in its lifetime:
Pillars of Philanthropy
$500,000 - $1 Million
Devon Canada Corporation (founding Corporate Partner)
RBC
Staples Canada
Innovator’s Circle
$350,000 - $500,000
Fluor Canada Ltd. (founding Corporate Partner)
Imperial (founding Corporate Partner)
TransAlta Corporation
Champion’s Circle
$200,000 - $350,000
The Calgary Flames Foundation
Catapult Canada, an Initiative of the Rideau Hall Foundation
Pembina Pipeline Corporation
Shaw Charity Classic
Corporate Partners
$50,000 - $200,000
Enerplus
Intact Insurance Macquarie Capital Markets
Canada Ltd.
Nordstrom
Symcor Inc.
Trilogy Energy Corporation
Individual Philanthropists
Thank you to the following, generous, individual donors who have supported All In for Youth with contributions of $100,000 or more since the program's beginnings in 2012:
R.W. “Bill” Andre
David and Leslie Bissett
Hugh and Laureen Borgland
Rick F. Braund
Carrera Foundation
Michael and Heather Culbert and family
Patricia and Lorne Gordon
Jim and Susan Hill
Rebecca Hotchkiss
Kanovsky Family Foundation
Ron Mathison
Michele and Bob Michaleski
Barry and Val Munro and family
Norrep Foundation
Poelzer Family Foundation
Terry and Marion Poole
Clay Riddell
Mike and Sue Rose
Vera A. Ross
Bill and Sharon Siebens
Mac and Susan Van Wielingen
Two Anonymous Donors