Focus on Youth Program a Great Success

Focus on Youth Summer Camps Support

Thanks to a generous grant received from the Ontario Ministry of Education, the Ottawa Catholic School Board was able to employ 64 students between the ages of 16 and 18 as counselors at a variety of summer camps in the Ottawa area.

Students hired as summer camp counselors benefitted from the Focus on Youth program not only by earning summer income but more importantly by acquiring key leadership and employability skills.  The other beneficiaries of the Focus on Youth summer camp program were the 100s of children who attended camps thanks to the additional spots made possible by the hiring of Focus on Youth counselors.

During July, I visited some of the community centres, such as Manor Park and Michele Heights, at which our Focus on Youth camp counselors worked.  The energy and commitment of the Focus on Youth counselors was very evident, and the Focus on Youth summer camp program was much appreciated by City of Ottawa Parks & Receration staff and community centre staffs.

Martin Keyes & Louise Trudeau at Manor Park Community Centre

St. Paul H S students Jenny Brown & Joanne Lunag
at Michele Heights Community Centre

Focus on Youth Custodial Helper Program



Also made possible by the Focus on Youth grant from the Ministry of Education is the custodial helper program, whereby 21 students were employed this summer to assist caretakers in Ottawa Catholic high schools.  As I mentioned in a previous blogpost, one student in this program whom I spent some time with is St. Paul graduate Austin Buchan-Semple.  When I arrived at All Saints High School, I found him busy cleaning out lockers and  preparing classrooms for the return of students in September.  The caretaker he was assisting, Mr. Peter McLean, had high praise for Austin's work and clearly articulated one of the benefits of the Focus on Youth custodial program:  "When students help clean schools, they become more responsible in how they treat their own school."

Focus on Youth Student Austin Buchan-Semple Hard at Work