Hope for Community Development received a $ 30, 000 Community Grant investment from Waterloo Region Community Foundation to continue running its Goal Youth Soccer Program. WRCF distributes Community Grants annually to organizations focused on initiatives linked to improving social infrastructure, located anywhere in Waterloo Region, and provide support to residents.
For the past 26 weeks, Hope for Community Development successfully implemented its Goal Youth Soccer Program in partnership with Social Development Centre Waterloo Region to foster wellness through sports and recreational activities for Black and Racialized children and youth living in Affordable Housing.
The program impacted over 50 Black and Racialized children and youth participants as well as their parents. The impact of our Goal Youth Soccer Program is shown in the dedication of our young players which consistently made us believe we are raising super stars soccer players. We are grateful to Waterloo Region Community Foundation for investing in our organization to improve social infrastructure by connecting youth with their peers and connect families with each other, the bridges necessary to build trust and civic participation, to create a sense of belonging and wellbeing. Creating a system that enables sustainable extensive community development.
During the program, knowledge was shared both on and off the soccer field. We offered a weekly indoor and outdoor soccer training on the page and provided Wellness Workshops where they learned the mental game, helping them harness mindfulness for highest performance and learning the theory of what makes a great athlete.
We learned from the participant parents through interviews that Black and Racialized children and youth living in affordable housing struggled with engaging in meaningful afterschool activities such as our soccer program due to financial constraint. There was a strong desire for their children to connect with their peers in their community, all thanks to H4CD and WRCF for helping their children engage in such life-transforming program free of charge. The program was good for their children’s mental health, and they wish for it to continue every year.
The Goal Youth Soccer Program is led by committed facilitators and volunteers promoting the qualities needed to live a healthy lifestyle and skill building for newcomer and marginalized black youth from the ages of 10-29. The program is built to help attendees develop soccer skills in a non-competitive environment through use of scrimmages, skill-based training, and team building activities aimed at encouraging healthy self-esteem & positive social interaction.
The long-term goal for the Goal Youth Soccer program is to renovate a facility to establish a Goal Youth Athletic Centre that will offer sports and recreation programming for Black and marginalized youth. It will be a space where people will come together and holistically connect the themes of sports and recreation with education and learning. The Centre will build on Hope for Community Development’s mission and success in building a world where everyone is empowered with the tools and opportunities to thrive and contribute to society.
The program has ended for this period. We are currently looking for sponsors to continue the program because our youth have expressed enthusiasm for harnessing their talents and bringing their dreams of becoming professional soccer players to life!
About Hope for Community Development
Hope for Community Development is a youth-focused nonprofit organization that creates transformational change for Black youth and families through education, programming and workshops.Through empowering Black and newcomer families and youth with programming and support, Hope for Community Development works to break the cycle of poverty that Black and newcomer families face in Waterloo region. We take direct action to empower Black, newcomer, and refugee children, youth, women and single-parent families by providing a spectrum of services and supports that create positive pathways to development and community integration.
About Waterloo Region Community Foundation
Waterloo Region Community Foundation (WRCF) is focused on ensuring our communities are equitable, connected, and sustainable; and people are thriving. They are dedicated to assisting those most impacted by inequalities, and supporting organizations that work to remove barriers, build community, and increase opportunities for Waterloo Region residents across our three cities and four townships.
Learn more about sports and recreation programs here https://www.hope4cd.org/sports-and-recreation
To support this program, you please donate here https://www.hope4cd.org/make-a-donation
You can also call 226-700-0769 /647-783-6613
or Email: hopeforcommunitydevelopment@gmail.com
Previous supporters Foundation for Black Communities City of Kitchener