2016 PRO KIDS ANNUAL REPORT BACKGROUND WHAT IS PRO KIDS PRO Kids is a registered charity dedicated to making recreation opportunities accessible to Thunder Bay children and youth who are unable to participate in programs due to financial challenges. The PRO Kids concept was developed by the City of Thunder Bay Recreation & Culture Division as the result of extensive consultation with social agencies, recreation providers, youth and other stakeholders. PRO Kids has been in operation since 1998 and is now managed by a Board of Directors responsible for the delivery of the service to the community. Since its inception 18 years ago, PRO Kids has made over 23,144 placements of children and youth in Thunder Bay community programs. VISION That all children and youth in Thunder Bay are able to participate in recreation activities which boost self-esteem and promote healthy growth through the learning of new skills, increased knowledge, and personal development. PURPOSE To provide program and financial assistance to as many children and youth as possible who, due to lack of funds, are not able to participate in registered recreation activities. WHY PRO KIDS? According to 2011 Statistics Canada data, 5992 children between the ages of 0-18 were living below the low income cut-off in Thunder Bay and District. This represents 5.5% of the total population, and 26.2% of the total youth population. Financial barriers have been identified as one of the main obstacles preventing children and youth from participating in activities. Recreational activities can make a positive difference in the lives of children and youth by providing them with the opportunity to develop leadership and teamwork skills, learn healthy lifestyle choices, enhance self-esteem, meet positive role models, and learn to play by the rules. Kids who are active in recreation programs form positive peer connections and are less likely to engage in negative behaviors. Page 1 PRO KIDS & COMMUNITY PARTNERS PRO Kids is able to help so many children thanks to partnerships with the community organizations that offer recreation activities in Thunder Bay. These partners provide free and discounted registration spaces in their programs. PRO Kids matches these spaces with children who have applied for assistance. PRO KIDS HELPS PRO Kids provides service to low income families. The process is completely confidential. When an application is approved, children/youth are fully integrated into the activities. PRO Kids places children/youth into programs that the applicant has identified as being of interest. PRO KIDS RECEIVES SUPPORT FROM THE COMMUNITY & PARTNERS PRO Kids connects families with the organizations that provide community activities. Organizations prefer not to be involved in the screening process; PRO Kids provides that service. PRO Kids provides opportunities to be active not only in sports, but also in arts, culture and recreation. PRO Kids is a valuable service that brings people together and supports a healthy community. THE APPLICATION PROCESS Who is eligible? Children and youth who satisfy the following requirements: 18 years of age and under From low-income families & unable to afford registration fees Not participating in any other paid recreation program The Process First-time applicants will be contacted to discuss their eligibility. The application form requires that a reference be provided. The reference is contacted in confidence to confirm information that would qualify the applicant for PRO Kids assistance. References are often a social worker, clergy, group leader, coach, teacher, etc. Page 2 PRO KIDS 2016 2016 marks the 18th year that PRO Kids has ensured that all youth in Thunder Bay, regardless of income, have equal access to community activities. A child who was placed in an activity through PRO Kids in 1998 at the age of 4 1800 is now 22 years old. These 1600 activities provided this growing 1400 youth skills and confidence as 1200 well as a sense of belonging and 1000 Applications Received inclusion, giving them the ability 800 Children Placed to become a contributing 600 member of society. 400 200 The following chart maps out the 0 trend of placements over the 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 past 8 years. Notice that though 2016 was not the year with the most applications received, it is the year with the most children placed compared to the 7 years prior. PRO Kids continues to promote the service among people living in low-income residential areas and through social service agencies who can make referrals directly on behalf of families in need. Additionally PRO Kids attends many community outreach programs and events where information on the program is distributed directly to possible applicants. We hope to see a rise in the use of PRO Kids as a result of these promotional efforts. New Families/ Children Many of the families who access PRO Kids are recurring applicants, however, in 2016 there were 195 new families, representing 384 new 450 children who applied to PRO Kids. 400 350 300 250 New Family 200 150 New Children 100 50 0 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Page 3 Every year that passes brings more challenge to the operations of PRO Kids. There is much time spent on the phone and in person, consulting families on activities that might best suit their children and negotiating with partner activity providers to see how we might accommodate a few more children in their program. The most significant workload increase has been in the area of fundraising, especially initiating, organizing, presenting and evaluating fundraising events as well as securing sponsorship and good promotion. All these elements take time but are needed to meet the demands effectively. To that end, PRO Kids was able to secure funding to hire an intern for one year through the Northwestern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC). This fund is established to give new post-secondary graduates work experience with the hopes of creating additional jobs in the work force. Allyson Drombolis was hired in January of 2016 as the PRO Kids Planning and Development Analyst. Working closely with the Coordinator, PRO Kids achieved goals such as rebranding the annual Diving event to be called “Conquer the Tower”, participated in a larger number of community engagement activities, keeping the website relevant and updated, refreshed the look of PRO Kids publications and literature and, perhaps the greatest achievement, placed 200 additional children in programs. PRO Kids is working toward maintaining the support of an additional staff for the future. Board and Volunteers PRO Kids attract volunteers who are kind, hard-working and possess great integrity combined with their desire to help kids in our community. We welcomed three new members to the Board of Directors in 2016; Cole Anderson, Heather Collins and our youth representative, Joshua Swearengen. The board works well together and each member makes a contribution especially representative of his/her varied experiences. This was their first year under a new model of governance which has members aligned with fundraising events and other initiatives. In addition to being responsible for the Registered Charitable Status, this group continues to act in an advisory capacity for the service. Page 4 The Fundraising Committee supports Board initiatives and takes part in events as well. They have been known to generate good fundraising ideas and will take the lead on things like merchandise sales and pursues corporate fundraising initiatives such as dress down days. This group also provides the “working hands” when it comes to putting golf kits together and packaging materials for various other events. Many of these members are retired, but have excellent skills and talents that they like to share to support PRO Kids during business hours. There are additional volunteers who come into the office to help with small projects or filing while others support us and help out at events like the Family Skates or Conquer the Tower. The one common thread that all our volunteers have is that they are able to have fun, are friendly and focused on their work. It’s a pleasure to work with them. Partner Activity Providers PRO Kids is built on the foundation of partnerships with community activity providers. We value the spaces they donate in their programs in order to support kids in our community. The number of partners remains consistent at around the 200 mark, however, some organizations fold while others are introduced. In 2016, PRO Kids formed partnerships with the following: Corans Music Education Centre, Dance Basics, Image Dance Studio, Krav Maga Martial Arts, Maple Tops Activity Centre, Novocentre (Franco Camp), Whitewater Golf Club, Thunder Bay Roller Skating and Akira at Whitefish School. Page 5 2016 PLACEMENTS Applications & Placements In 2016 a total of 1,547 applications was received with 1,407 of them resulting in placements. A significant increase from the 1,369 700 627 received and 1,215 placed in Received 600 558 2015. 500 PRO Kids continues to successfully 400 358 place on average 80% of the 330 273 289 270 applications received, with 2016 300 249 being slightly above average at 200 91%. 100 0 Winter Spring Summer Fall Applications Received: 1,547 Applicants Placed: 1,407 Participants Breakdown by Gender The number of male applicants and female applicants were very close in 2016, with nearly a 50/50 split. Comparatively, in 2015 we saw a wider distribution with 45% female and 55% male applicants. Male Female Participant Application Status 51% 49% Applications may be submitted up to one season in advance of the requested program and are handled on a first-come, first-served basis. Some applications are incomplete or the desired activity is unavailable at the time of the request. In these situations, the PRO Kids Coordinator makes an effort to discuss options with families so that children/youth can choose an alternate activity or be placed in the desired activity in the appropriate season.