Calgary Police Youth Foundation – Tell Me More!
In previous editions of Calgary Police Foundation E-News we have shared our dream to become a household name in Calgary and the # 1 charity of choice for all Calgarians. Every day we are working hard to raise awareness of who we are and what we do, and we listened when you told us we needed an identity that made it clear who we want to keep safe from getting involved in crime or being a victim of it and that is our Calgary Youth! So, drum roll please, announcing our new name and logo:
Let us know what you think of this bold step forward that highlights our purpose of “YOUTH”! When choosing a new public facing name we had a lot to consider. We wanted to describe our invaluable collaboration with the Calgary Police Service and other community partners. We also wanted to foster ownership among those we serve so they know they can count on the Calgary Police Youth Foundation to be there for them when they need us.
Ultimately, we want to help our city’s children and youth stay safe from crime by providing them with the education, prevention, early intervention, and risk reduction resources they need to stay safe. By reaching them at a young age we can break the cycle of crime and help our youngest Calgarians get on the road to being responsible citizens.
At the recent meeting of the Board of Directors, three new volunteer Directors were elected. Please welcome Trish Bronsch, Rick Green and Jeff Quick. We are very pleased to have them join the Board in support of children and youth in Calgary.
Trish Bronsch 
Rick Green 
Jeff Quick
Trish Bronsch: Trish has over twenty years experience in not for profit leadership including CEO for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation and President & CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Calgary and Area. She has always been involved with youth focused programs including mental health liaison for child welfare and creating the unique Youth Advisory Council during her tenure at the Breast Cancer Foundation. She was awarded the Women of Distinction award for Business, Management and the Professions in 2011 and has a degree in Nursing with a subspecialty in Psychiatry.
Rick Green: Rick is the Co-Founder and past President of Sagium, a multi-faceted Wealth Management Firm based in Calgary and has been providing advice and council to Canadian Families and Business since 1986. Rick’s other community involvement includes The Major Donor Cabinet and Tomorrow Fund Committee of the United Way as well as a Board Position with the Academy of Aging. For 15 years, raising funds and awareness for the Canadian Mental Health Association and Horizon Housing through various events has also been a joy and passion.
Jeff Quick: Currently the Chief Financial Officer for STARS (Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service), Jeff has worked for a variety of organizations throughout his career including PricewaterhouseCoopers, AIRMILES Loyalty Program and Alliance Data Systems in the USA. He is also a community volunteer with Bow Valley College and coaches’ boy’s hockey and girl’s volleyball at the provincial level. When he is not working or volunteering, Jeff enjoys his road bike and time connecting with his wife and their two adult children.
This month we send a huge THANK-YOU to the RBC Foundation, Future Launch Program, for their generous gift of $50,000 to the Youth at Risk Development Program!
The RBC Foundation is committed to helping young people realise their full potential and the Youth At Risk Development (YARD) Program helps youth at risk of gang involvement or criminal activity by focusing on interpersonal relationships, mental health and wellness, life skills and pro-social activities. This donation to the YARD program will create positive social impact in the community and how great is that.
Thank you, RBC Foundation!
Calgary Cares Boxes Assembly Day Recap
On June 17th, staff and volunteers gathered to assemble 300 Calgary Cares Boxes for the children and youth currently supported by the CPF funded Programs.
Throughout the day, the group worked safely apart and with great camaraderie to build the boxes, filling them with useful items and treats to provide something for everyone.
Once packed, the care boxes were quickly on their way to the intended recipients and everyone slept well that night exhausted and happy knowing together we brought a few smiles to those who need us at this time.
Thank-you to everyone who donated to the Calgary Care Box campaign and who helped us make a little magic happen!
Throughout COVID-19 we have been supplying children in the Integrated School Support Program (ISSP) with a variety of supplies to address their growing needs. This includes laptops for at home learning, activity kits to help keep kids healthy, grocery store gift cards, and so much more.
Yesterday, we received a bundle of wonderful thank you notes from the students at Holy Trinity Elementary School, one of two schools supported by ISSP, and we thought we would share a few of them with you!
“Thank you for everything you do for our community. I am so grateful to have a foundation like this in my city everyday but with COVID-19 you have given me the gift of continued learning despite obstacles you have helped me overcome.” ~ Nathan
“Thank you for giving us a lot of hot lunch and breakfast club, we really love it! I appreciate how much you think about our school, you guys are very thoughtful and amazing!” ~ Manini
“I appreciate you and everything you do to help our school grow in faith and learning…your program helps kids who don’t have that much money or have something affecting their everyday life” ~ Camryn
Coming Soon: Back to School Backpack Drive for Indigenous Students
Planning is underway for a back to school backpack drive for Indigenous students in Calgary. This campaign will support Indigenous students from K-12 and will help provide school supplies for their return to classes, hopefully later in the year. Watch out on our social media channels for all the details and for more information on how you can get involved!
It has never been easier to plan with the Canadian Free Wills Network. Since the beginning of the year, the Calgary Police Youth Foundation has partnered with the Canadian Free Wills Network to help connect our supporters with lawyers throughout the province to write or amend their Will at no charge to you.
Hear from one of our supporters about what the process was like, and why she decided to leave a legacy gift to the Calgary Police Youth Foundation.
“We finally did it, and it could not have been easier! My husband and I had agreed for years (Years!) that we really should get our wills done. But in the back of our minds was the impression that ‘estate planning’ was tedious, complicated and expensive. And how does one go finding a reasonably priced lawyer when you don’t already have one? Well. “Free” took care of the “expensive”, and the idea that someone would give us a manageable list of lawyers we could approach helped us finally decide to go for it now, today, rather than someday.
We found the process very easy, very quick and it was indeed free! We could not be more pleased. We called one of the lawyers on the list provided in the info package mailed to us by the Canadian Free Wills Network. We arranged for an interview, completed the lawyer’s questionnaire, waited about a week and boom. They were showing us our Will.
To top it off, in the spirit of “it takes a village to raise a child” it was very easy to add a small legacy to the will in support of the Calgary Police Youth Foundation’s work to help Calgary’s vulnerable and at-risk kids, to help keep them safe from crime, and to support their need to be physically, mentally and emotionally safe.
The Canadian Free Wills Network and their lawyers’ offices are open and ready for you. They have set up appropriate steps to keep everyone involved safe in the face of COVID-19. Your lawyer will advise what safety measures their office has implemented and can offer alternatives such as meeting online. No need to wait for later – you can get your will done now and mark that item as DONE!”
Dear Friends,
This month, the Calgary Police Foundation accomplished its 9th year of keeping Calgary youth safe from crime and victimisation. We do not do this alone. We do this with the support from the Calgary Police Service, agency partners and by uniting supporters of the Calgary Police Foundation. As Spring was beginning in Calgary, no-one could have known what a tumultuous journey was ahead for all of us.
The Calgary Police Foundation is a registered charity that supports, and funds education, early intervention and prevention programming designed to reduce the risk of youth becoming involved in crime or being a victim.
Right now, as we prepare for the re-launch Alberta plans to get underway, we know that there is still a long and uncertain road ahead. Across the globe, we had to unite and come together to learn how to reduce the threat to our lives and minimise the impact on our economies using only a road map left by our ancestors. It is heart-warming to see the strength of Calgarians who stand by the Calgary Police Foundation and the Calgary Police Service, and who put aside their own challenges placing the well-being of our most vulnerable youth first.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed donations, items, information and resources to help us support our youth at this time. We truly appreciate your generosity and community spirit. Ongoing support helps us to meet the charitable elements of the Programs which are not funded by the public purse and which includes provision of aid that would not otherwise be available to those receiving assistance through prevention, education and intervention Programs delivered by CPS.
Our goal has always been to help youth reach their full potential and for tomorrow’s generation to grow with independence and safety. The Programs provided to Calgary’s youth provide interventions for those who have many risk factors associated with criminal behavior such as substance abuse, limited attachment to school, associating with negative peers, violent and aggressive tendencies and early contact with justice system. Many of the youth we support have low literacy rates, poor parental supervision, mental health issues, unstable housing and low academic achievement.
Those issues did not go away during the pandemic and if anything, the risk for criminal behaviors increased as youth were without the full range of wrap around support structures provided through the Programs due to school closures and physical distancing requirements. It was tough but with the compassion, kindness, and perseverance that exists within the Calgary community we were able to adapt and reach those most at risk at the right time.
In the last few months with support from our donors we have been able to provide grocery cards, department stores gift cards, laptops, sports equipment, bicycles and stay safe at home activities kits including resources to help tweens and teenagers maintain mental health.
A unique and new initiative funded by the Calgary Police Foundation is the Family Navigator, a resource we have put in place for the months of June, July and August for the benefit of the children, youth and their families who are currently supported by the Calgary Police Foundation funded programs. The primary role of the Family Navigator is to assist families in accessing information and connecting them to community services and supports that are available in their area. For many, accessing and understanding support available can be overwhelming and we wish to alleviate this burden.
We recently distributed 300 Calgary Care Boxes packed full of essential items with something for all the family to help them over the summer months and this included our customised Pocket Hug, a small token to send a message to the youth they are not alone, and we are here for them. Planning is also underway for a school back pack drive in August targeting Indigenous youth.
We also want to thank our partners at the Calgary Police Service who can continue to prioritise their efforts to keep our communities safe while providing ongoing support to the youth and their families. We believe the youth crime prevention, education and intervention Programs delivered to the community by the Calgary Police Service are best in class and provide a blue print model for police services across Canada to follow. We are very proud of the CPS for showing us the positive impact early intervention can have on the lives of our youngest citizens and if you are able to, I encourage you to show your support to the most vulnerable children and youth through the Calgary Police Foundation monthly giving program, Promising Futures. Your commitment to Promising Futures monthly giving program sends a strong message to our Calgary youth, it tells them “we are there for you” and I know with your support, we always will be.
On behalf of those we serve, thank-you.
– Brain Ferguson, Chair of the Board
Become a Promising Futures Monthly Donor!
By becoming a Promising Futures monthly donor, you are joining other thoughtful Calgarians who want to help build a city where families can thrive, and all children can reach their full potential. With your monthly gift, we are able to fund six unique Programs that offer education, prevention, early intervention and risk reduction resources intended to help break the cycle of crime and prevent children and youth from becoming a victim of it.
Want to help make a difference? Signing up is easy! Just visit our website and register online. The Promising Futures program is completely customizable, and you can choose the donation amount that fits best within your budget.
No matter the donation amount, YOU are making a difference and are helping us build a safer, healthier community for all Calgarians!
The Calgary Police Youth Foundation Blog 