Toronto, ON — On behalf of the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women, the Honourable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Labour and Member of Parliament (Halton), today announced Government of Canada support to the Scadding Court Community Centre for a project that will promote leadership and prosperity among young women in Toronto.
"The Government of Canada recognizes the enormous potential of girls and young women to be leaders in Canadian communities," said Minister Ambrose. "Scadding Court Community Centre's innovative project will support girls and young women in developing leadership skills."
"This project will help young women aged 15 to 24 to prosper and make a real difference in their community," said Minister Raitt. "Young participants will engage with local businesses and community members to discover how they can contribute to and share in the growth and prosperity of the Alexandra Park neighbourhood."
The Government of Canada has approved more than $4.8 million to date in funding to organizations to carry out projects that promote leadership and economic prosperity among girls and young women. Successful projects were chosen following a Call for Proposals on the theme Setting the Stage for Girls and Young Women to Succeed, issued in June 2012.
The Scadding Court Community Centre is receiving $127,203 in funding from the Government of Canada for its 24-month project. The Centre will engage girls and young women aged 15-24 years living in the Alexandra Park community. Through this project, the Centre's primary goal is to open doors for young women to benefit from the growing social and economic transformation in the community, which has resulted from recent revitalization and redevelopment efforts.
"Our organization is grateful to the Government of Canada for supporting our exciting new project," said Mr. Doug Lowry, Chair of the Board of Directors, Scadding Court Community Centre. "This project will empower young women to access unique economic opportunities and build invaluable leadership skills that will contribute to their future success, and help our community grow and prosper."
The Government of Canada is committed to supporting projects that yield concrete results for women and girls while strengthening families, communities and the country. Through Status of Women Canada, the government's support for community-based projects has nearly doubled since 2006-2007, from $10.8 million to close to $19 million, its highest level ever. Since 2007, through the Women's Program of Status of Women Canada, more than $20 million in funding has been approved for projects that promote women's leadership and democratic participation.
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