“Build to Change”
2022 – 2026
The Foundation provided support to help launch a new program called Build to Change. The need for this program arose from direct feedback from program participants (youth ages 12-14) as a guided step between elementary (the Learn Create Explore program) and high school or Youth Lead Impact (YLI) programs. Build to Change served as a path for youth who are either about to or have recently transitioned into high school to take their leadership skills beyond the elementary age programming. While the YLI programming puts the trajectory of the program directly into the participants’ hands, the younger teens requested a more guided approach with more direct facilitator instruction and central support activities further developing the key skills needed for success such as leadership, project management, communication, and self-confidence.
The Build to Change program involved ten 90-minute workshop sessions, where youth experienced a more facilitator-led version of our YLI program with project planning rooted in structured decision-making and group learning with continuous input and influence from the participants. As a group, youth worked to launch an arts-based project through predetermined options that they decided on together, offering structure to the project development and implementation process so that participants learned how to model these structures moving forward. Upon completion of the program, participants benefited from seeing their work come to life in the project they launched together. Each participant received a certificate of completion and was encouraged to take the next step into the YLI programming to further put their new skills into practice.
As a result of funding:
- Cohorts ran in Vancouver, Surrey, and Toronto
- 349 youth from under-served and under-resourced communities participated in Build to Change cohorts with additional youth participating in events such as online Youth Summit events
- The program was adapted to also include a day camp model as well as standalone events in partnership with local community groups
- A couple of key evaluation data points showed that:
- Future Optimism: Participants’ optimism regarding high school completion and working toward future goals shifted from a 50% baseline agreement to 78% post-program agreement.
- Personal Resilience: A sense of personal resilience and tenacity grew from a 40% baseline agreement to 56% post-program agreement.
A few key insights from this work:
- It has become undeniably clear that demand for middle-years programming is rising. Educators and career-readiness data consistently point to this age bracket as a critical window for intervention, particularly for youth navigating socioeconomic barriers and other determinants of future outcomes.
- Adaptability remains the single greatest strength of the BTC program, standing out as one of our most structurally flexible offerings. Youth in their middle years require a delicate balance of clear structure and personal agency to feel genuinely invested in a program. BTC occupies the ideal sweet spot on our continuum: it bridges Learn Create Explore (which is highly facilitator-structured) and Youth Lead Impact (which is heavily participant-led). This flexibility allows us to meet younger teens precisely where they are, whether in classrooms, after-school spaces, or camp environments, and deeply anchor creative program components into their immediate interests, learning styles, and lived experiences.
Advice for others
We would advise other organizations looking to engage equity-deserving middle-years youth in any region or population across these three key pillars:
- Build Mutually Beneficial Partnerships. Seek out local organizations that already have direct access to priority youth populations but lack the specialized programming resources to meet their internal demand.
- Meet Youth Where They Are. Design your initiatives to integrate seamlessly into their environments, and remain ready to engage participants directly at their current social, emotional, and academic levels.
- Prioritize Adaptive Facilitation. Invest heavily in recruitment and training to ensure your facilitators are empathetic, patient, and highly skilled critical thinkers who can successfully navigate diverse learning styles simultaneously within a single room.
About Thrive Youth Development Canada
Thrive Youth Development Canada was founded in 1996 out of a belief in the power of children and youth. What began as a single, out of school program delivered in Toronto has grown to a continuum of programs serving children aged 9 to 17 that support the grown and well-being of young people through skill-building, educational opportunities, and mentorship. We deliver programming in Vancouver, Toronto, Halifax, remote First Nation communities, and virtually. We have reached over 20,000 young Canadians in communities across the country, with a proven track record of increasing participation rates in class, developing a strong sense of self-confidence, and supporting the goals of educators.
Thrive Youth offers free of cost leadership development programs for children and youth aged 9 to 17 in under-resourced communities. Our priority is to provide participants with high quality programs that support the development of critical leadership skills, confidence, and a strong sense of self.