February 2015 Newsletter

1 | A Word From Our CEO 6 | The Rosemary McCain McMillin Scholarship 2 | Welcome to the Family! 7 | Congratulations Katherine Adams 3 | Island Bound 8 | Staff Proile: Tom Carney 4 | Reaching for the Summit 9 | Partners For Youth 5 | A Day to Remember BC | 2014-15 Board of Directors

Topping our 20 anniversary year and everything that went with it was not th something I believed we would do anytime soon, but here we are. We have expanded our organization—yet again—and we have demonstrated that developing strong partnerships and thinking outside the box in order to support youth is not only possible but achievable. In this newly redesigned newsletter, you will read about several new and exciting initiatives and partnerships, all with the ultimate goal of supporting, engaging, and empowering youth and youth at risk. It is the most important question we ask ourselves every day – “how is it good for kids?” You will read about our expansion into Prince Edward Island with our healthy relationships program, Making Waves, and how this evidence based program is having an impact. You will read about our recent Youth Engagement Summit, where over 250 youth and adult supporters from 27 schools across New Brunswick came together to discuss and work together on issues important to them in their communities and province. You will read about the awarding of the irst Rosemary McCain McMillin scholarship, given to a former youth in care seeking graduate studies. You will read about the declaration of the irst Children and Youth in Care Day, which will forever recognize the importance of these children and youth. You will read about our new partnership with DOTS NB for kids mental health—our newest opportunity to further the work which was started by passionate advocate and mom, Maureen Bilerman. Finally, you will not read about who created this new newsletter or who is leading our engagement and communications work—Mathieu Cormier has re-joined the PFY team in this capacity, and we are ecstatic at the possibilities. My sincere thanks to our very talented staff team and board of directors for supporting our vision. We look forward to continuing to share our work with you—our partners. —John Sharpe

We are pleased to welcome “Dots NB for Kids’ Mental Health” into the PFY family. Serving as our new youth mental health branch, Dots NB will empower youth, family and community members to develop sustainable mobilization strategies toward the enhancement of prevention and early intervention and improved treatments and services for children and youth with complex needs in New Brunswick. Cindy Miles, a long time Dots NB volunteer and staff will continue to coordinate this great initiative. Cindy has been working and volunteering in the not for proit sector for 25 years and brings to PFY 15 years of successful business management experience, a social science degree from Saint Thomas University with a concentration in policy, and experience in the education system working with children with exceptional needs. By bringing Dots NB into the family, we will supplement our existing work with new initiatives centered around community support and mobilization. Building off an expanded leadership role, we will further the development of a NB Network of Excellence and develop new opportunities for community mobilization to support children with complex needs. We will also work in close partnership with stakeholders who have a vested interest in the provincial Integrated Services Delivery (ISD) project. The future is bright.

Thanks to generous contributions by the Leacross Foundation and the Canadian Women`s Foundation, we have recently begun an expansion of our Making Waves program on Prince Edward Island. Our agreement spans over three years and is set to include students from all ten high schools on the island. Last October 2014, we began our journey with a irst grouping of students from ive island schools. Over 50 participants were on hand at Brackly Beach to participate in Making Waves training and begin developing school action plans. By all accounts, it was a tremendous success and a fantastic beginning to this expansion project. For the rest of this 2014-15 school year, Making Waves project coordinator Suzanne Laver will remain engaged in the action plan processes for this irst group of students. We then hope to pull from this group to build the irst ever P.E.I. Student Advisory Committee (SAC) for Making Waves. This SAC will be instrumental in maintaining the program for years to come.

Last October, PFY hosted the second ever Youth Engagement Summit in NB. The event included participation from 27 schools and over 250 people from throughout the province. Over the course of the day, youth participants met in a variety of discussion formats to talk about their communities. They were asked a number of questions and guided through a series of engagement activities, all with the goal of generating as much information as possible from New Brunswick youth. The summit was organized in large part by a leadership group made up of youth from other PFY programs. This group was responsible for shaping the day into something that would be attractive and interesting for youth participants. In the end, the group found remarkable success. Surveys provided to participants near the end of the day were overwhelming favourable, with many youth noting they would like to be involved in these types of events on a more regular basis. The day began with an address from Minister Cathy Rogers and was capped by words from Premier Brian Gallant. We are currently hard at work to inalize a report on the summit. This report will outline what types of topics were most common, as well as provide substantial statistics and other details. In the meantime, we want to thank everyone who helped make the summit such a great event.

On November 29th 2014, Minister Cathy Rogers issued an oficial declaration, making November 29th Children and Youth in Care Day in New Brunswick. The declaration, signed at the Government House with the blessing of Lieutenant Governor Jocelyn Roy-Vienneau, makes New Brunswick one of only a few provinces in Canada to take this important step. This declaration is the result of years of hard work undertaken by the NBYICN leadership group. In November 2012, the NBYICN organized the irst ever New Brunswick Youth in Care Hearings at the provincial legislature. The hearings gave six young people the chance to talk about their experiences in the care system to a room illed with elected oficials, top civil servants, and a group of their peers. Following this event, the NBYICN published a report that listed a series of recommendations for the provincial government on how they could provide better support to youth in care. One of those recommendations was to set one aside one day to be an annual youth in care day in New Brunswick. As the NBYICN’s parent organization, Partners For Youth could not be prouder than we are today. The strength and initiative displayed by NBYICN members throughout this process has been nothing short of inspiring. Stand tall. You deserve to.

The Rosemary McCain McMillin Scholarship is awarded annually to young people who spent time in the provincial care system and who are looking to pursue post-secondary studies at the graduate level. The scholarship covers up to $5,000 of the cost of post-secondary tuition and fees. Anyone who is from care in New Brunswick can apply, including students who may have applied or obtained the scholarship in previous years. The scholarship was founded by the woman for whom it is named. As a patron of PFY for a number of years, Rosemary McCain McMillin has helped us provide important support to youth in need throughout New Brunswick. Half of the $5000 scholarship amount is also provided by the provincial government. \"I give because of a feeling deep inside me. It's part of my history and part of my family. Dad and mother always helped others, and I remember that very well. I grew up in the depression, where there were six children at home. I remember my father coming home at the end of the week with a roll of lifesavers for the six of us to share – it was a great treat and we were all so thankful. I had the most wonderful childhood, and I wish all children could have the same thing. Education is so important, and I want to give children the opportunity to succeed.\" - Rosemary McCain McMillin If you or someone you know qualiies and would like to apply for the scholarship in 2015, contact the New Brunswick Youth In Care Network (NBYICN) coordinator at [email protected]. We are accepting applications until June 1st.

We would like to offer our congratulations to Katherine Adams. Katherine is the irst ever recipient of the Rosemary McCain McMillin Scholarship, awarded to former youth in care who are undertaking post-secondary studies at the graduate level. Katherine is in the last year of a Master of Education program in Instructional Design. Katherine has been involved in a number of PFY events and programs. In particular, she spent several years as a prominent leadership member of the New Brunswick Youth In Care Network. We look forward to seeing where she goes from here. One thing we know for sure, the horizon is very bright for Katherine Adams.

Born in Blackpool in the UK, Tom Carney grew up with a strong afinity for sports and the outdoors. His early menu of interests included the common English combo of cricket and soccer. Following a four year stint in the United States, Tom took up skating and hockey, eventually inding his way on to the Great Britain under 16 and under 18 roller hockey team. After high school, Tom’s penchant for sports became more than simple interest. He completed a bachelor’s degree in Sport Development and Physical Education at the Liverpool John Moores University before deciding to hop across the pond to undertake a master’s program in Sports and Recreation Studies at UNB. A PFY staff member since 2011, Tom started as a summer camp counsellor before moving into a part- time and then full-time position by 2012. He now serves as one of two coordinators working on our new Roadmap program, working to give youth in custody the skills needed to ind work and build a career. He is also our current PFY Summer Camp Director, a position he has illed for the last two years. His favourite PFY memory? “We were at Spruce Point campsite, watching the sun go down after a long day of paddling. The kids were all running around, having tons of fun. It was a great day.”

At the recent 2014 Partners for Youth Inc. annual general meeting, retiring board member Ric Cuthbertson was recognized for his decade of service to the organization. Serving in several capacities, Ric was instrumental in supporting the development and expansion of the organization over the last decade. In his time on the PFY board, his experience in fund development, the not for proit sector, and the charitable sector were invaluable assets to our organization. Ric continues to be a great supporter of PFY. We are forever grateful for his time and dedication. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to 100 Women Who Care Fredericton for helping to fund our Making Waves Relationship Violence program. The funding presentation event and format was one of the best and most inventive we have seen. Ninety-two women came together at a beautifully Christmas decorated Kingswood Lodge in Fredericton on November 25th, 2014. Three charities were invited to give ive minute presentations on their programs, following which the women were asked to cast votes on which organization they wanted to support. In their closest vote ever, only three votes separated the three presenting charities, and the women chose to support Partners For Youth with over $9000 in contributions. Your dedication to the cause is truly inspiring. Thank you.

The RBC Foundation is supporting the delivery of a mental health awareness project that will be integrated in our Adventure Classroom Middle School and Dots NB programs. This funding will help us continue to engage youth around issues related to mental health. Pictured on the right is our CEO John Sharpe receiving the $5000 grant from RBC representative Kelly Sutton in Fredericton. This is the 2nd year RBC has supported this project with funds from their foundation. We would like to congratulate CERIC for having hosted another successful Cannexus conference this past January. The conference highlights recent programs and work in ields related to career development throughout the country. Among this year’s many notable workshops, PFY’s very own CEO John Sharpe was on hand as a co-presenter on the topic of fund development. PFY is happy to have been a part of this event for the ninth year in a row, and we hope to continue this tradition down the road as you look forward to Cannexus 16.

Standing Board: Founder and Chairman Emeritus: Teresa Hatto—President Hon. James Ross Ross Creelman—Chairperson and VP Honorary Patrons: Larry Johnston—Treasurer Hon. Brian Gallant, Premier of New Brunswick Jody Gorham—Vice-President Hon. Jocelyn Roy Vienneau, NB Lieutenant Governor Nancy Roach—Director Rosemary McCain McMillin Mike Joyce—Director Laura Mae Slocum—Director Honorary Directors: Sandra DeVink—Director Hon. Trevor Eyton Steve Holland—Director Hon. Noel Kinsella Bernard Richard—Director Hon. Michael Meighen Lynne Lenihan—Director Hon. Marilyn Trenholme Counsell Beverly Gaudet—Director Hon. John Wallace Hon. Percy Mockler www.partnersforyouth.ca @pfyouthnb /partnersforyouthNB