The York Region - sharing the word section of our blog gives York Region residents, youth workers, and organizations a platform for sharing their ideas about important youth related issues in our community. As an online tool, our blog strives to stimulate conversations and encourage knowledge creation across sectors.

We are interested in posting information, articles, resources, interviews and any important local developments that contributes to our goal of collaborating effectively in our work with youth. We would really like to hear from you about any new initiatives in your organization.  We will post your information in this section of  the blog or place an article in our sharing the word newsletter.

Through our online presence, Streetjibe aspires to enhance the collaboration activities and initiatives that are addressing youth poverty. In this section of our blog we are supporting these activities by posting articles about youth, practitioners, faith workers, teachers, organizations, local projects and resources that add to our collective efforts to reduce youth poverty in York Region. As a blog, we offer a platform for readers to make comments and enter into a dialogue about poverty reduction. Its a way for us to make our silos more porous, broaden our collaboration capabilities and share untapped knowledge that rests in the community.

In From the Edge - Workshop Series 2008-2009

Join us – Register today!

Many youth in York Region find themselves on the outer edges of community and society. Local organizations and groups also find themselves positioned on the outer edges as they struggle with organizational sustainability. The challenges of collaborating effectively to address the complexities of youth poverty and homelessness are significant. With the support of our funders we are able to offer our community capacity building workshop series free of charge.

Workshops:

Youth Poverty in York Region

Expanding Your Personal Tool Kit

Tools & Strategies: Building on the Strengths of Young People

Stigma – Reducing Barriers that limit Positive Youth Development

Thinking Critically to Improve Programming

Reflection & Action: Moving Forward

Streetjibe invites you to step in from the edge through our collaboration and knowledge sharing workshops. In the long term, Streetjibe aspires to create a cultural shift in the way individuals and groups develop new skills and collaborate together so that young people have improved access to opportunities and resources.

In From the Edge workshops will build capacity of practitioners including youth workers, teachers, mental health workers, faith workers and outreach counselors across sectors by:

• investing in practitioner assets
• providing space for effective networking and relationship development
• promoting a shared vision for collaborative youth work and
• integrating local knowledge to respond to emerging trends affecting young people.

You are invited to participate in our interactive workshop series to increase your skills and effectiveness in supporting youth. All workshops are designed to promote peer networking, sharing of resources between participants and the application of new tools and strategies. Bring your ideas, energy, skills and organizational information to any of the following:

• Fifteen workshops focused on new skill development, cross-sectoral networking, peer support and sharing knowledge
• Three workshops dedicated to compiling our collective learning in preparation for a best practices conference in 2009 and the creation and circulation of our “Community Learning Toolkit”

Join us in this groundbreaking initiative that builds on the strengths of our community and the collective desire of community residents and organizations to reduce youth poverty in York Region.

Register soon (space is limited) for one or all of the In From the Edge workshops. Participants attending five workshops will receive a Streetjibe Learning Community Certificate.

While visiting the Streetjibe Blog you are invited to have a look at our new Streetjibe – sharing the word newsletter. The purpose of our newsletter is to highlight the exceptional work that individuals, practitioners and organizations are doing in York Region.

Through our newsletter we are creating a platform to inform York Region readers about important developments that impact youth services. As a blog, the newsletter also invites readers to share their opinions, fostering ongoing conversations on important matters affecting young people. By registering as a reader you are able to participate in these conversations and contribute your ideas and opinions to the discussion.

Kelly Towsley, a Streetjibe facilitator in our “In From the Edge Workshop” series sent me this resource for posting. Kelly is the Volunteer Coordinator for the Newmarket Connections - Community Information and Volunteer Program. In addition to her volunteer assessment and referral services, Kelly has a wealth of excellent resources available for community benefit organizations including many fund development and proposal resources.

This post focuses on the work of the Community Foundations of Canada web site. The CFC hosts a very useful Tool Kit that presents resources for foundations and organizations addressing the root causes of poverty.

We’ve called it “From Good Causes to Root Causes” to reflect a significant change in approach: more and more, community foundations are thinking strategically about their granting and other activities. They are marshalling their resources to tackle the root causes of complex social issues like poverty. They are trying to move from alleviation of poverty to reduction and prevention of poverty. Here is an excerpt from their web site. Read more………

This toolkit will help community foundations and organizations with:

1. Understanding Your Context
2. Ways to Respond to Poverty
3. Assessing Your Readiness for a Stronger Anti-Poverty Role
4. Choosing a Strategy
5. Anticipating Your Impact
6. Assessing Your Impact
7. Five Difficult Questions

The prevailing view held by school administrators and teachers from my experience of working within school communities is that social networking (Facebook, YouTube, MySpace etc.) is a disruptive influence to learning. This study from the University of Minnesota brings new insight into the benefits of social networking as an additional learning tool for youth.

A University of Minnesota study reveals that the tools of social networking are truly democratizing the web, giving low-income students the same advantages as their privileged peers.

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL ( 6/19/2008 ) — In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers at the University of Minnesota have discovered the educational benefits of social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook. The same study found that low-income students are in many ways just as technologically proficient as their counterparts, going against what results from previous studies have suggested.

The study found that, of the students observed, 94 percent used the Internet, 82 percent go online at home and 77 percent had a profile on a social networking site. When asked what they learn from using social networking sites, the students listed technology skills as the top lesson, followed by creativity, being open to new or diverse views and communication skills.