1. Mentorship Program
By: Mark Golding

2. Calgary Bridge Foundation for Youth (CBFY) – Who are we?
Charitable non-profit organization
Originated in 1990
Work to create a welcoming and inclusive environment for immigrant and refugee youth and their families as they settle into Canada
B.R.I.D.G.E.
Belonging
Respect and Integrity
Inclusion and Collaboration
Diversity
Growth and Innovation
Excellence
The Calgary Bridge Foundation for Youth (CBFY) is a charitable not for profit organization that originated in the year 1990, serving over 13,800 individuals annually. For over 27 years CBFY provides a welcoming and inclusive environment for immigrant and refugee youth and their families by enriching them with the appropriate information, knowledge and experience as they build a life in Canada.
Our core values are, to create a sense of belonging, be ethical and respectful in our pursuit of excellence, strengthen our relevance through collaborative partnerships and positive synergies, champion diversity as our core ethos, nurture growth and innovative practices and inspire a culture of excellence.

3. Mentorship Program – Who are we?
Who do we serve:
Jr. High and High school youth
Permanent Residents (PR), Refugees, and Immigrant youth who are not yet Canadian Citizens and still require settlement support
What is our focus:
Positive settlement and integration of newcomer youth to support in their transition into school, their community, and life in Canada
How do we do this (2 components):
Information and Orientation: 1-1 support, Parent information sessions, school tours and orientations, etc.
Community Connections: after school programming with workshops, guest speakers, interactive activities, and field trips
- The Mentorship Program falls under the umbrella of The Calgary Bridge Foundation for Youth (CBFY)
- the program receives its funding from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)
- has a strong partnership with the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) and the Calgary Catholic School District (CSSD).
- We focus on the positive settlement and integration of newcomer youth by providing information, resources, and support as they transition to their new schools and communities.
The program consists of the following core components:
- Information & Orientation: The Mentorship Program provide settlement resources and services for newcomer youth as they enter the Canadian school system. This is done through the following activities:
Meet and greet, and sharing information to newcomers by Youth Counsellors at both school district reception centers
School tours and orientations throughout the year facilitated by Peer Mentors
Parent information sessions
One-on-one support: We connect youth with information, resources, and a variety of services that help them succeed and achieve personal, social and academic goals.
- Community Connections: newcomer youth have the opportunity to learn about their community through interactive programming, workshops and guest speaker series during after school program. We offer after-school programming once a week serving both junior high and high schools throughout the city. Youth are able to participate in fun group activities, build positive relationships while developing leadership, language and life skills, and deepen their understanding of Canadian culture.
Community connections also include newcomers learning about the city of Calgary through various off-site learning opportunities such as trips to post-secondary institutions, Heritage Park, Telus Spark, Glenbow Museum, and much more. Other aspect that make up our community connection activities include the following:
Long-term mentorship: Peer Mentors are youth who were once newcomers, and now help to support others by offering school tours, translation support, and friendship. When newcomers begin school, Peer Mentors are ready to help them out on their first day of school.
Newcomer Orientation and Welcome (NOW) – two sessions per year for high school youth (summer and winter)
Welcome Information for Newcomers (WIN) – two sessions per year for junior high school youth (summer and winter)
The following programs are also offered: Syrian Initiative Program, Cross-Aged Mentorship, Transitioning into Post-Secondary (TIPS), and Level Up.
Who we serve: Permanent Residents (PR), Refugees, and Immigrant youth who are not yet Canadian Citizens and still require settlement support

4. Mentorship Program – Best Practices
The foundation of the Mentorship program includes:
A strength-based approach that is youth-centred
The Mentorship Logic model
Circle of Courage Model
Foundation:
A strength-based approach – What does this look like?
- It means developing our facilitation and curriculum with the notion of “Meeting our youth where they are at”
- based on the belief that youth should have equal opportunities without being subjected to racial, ethnic, social class, or gender discriminations
Mentorship Logic Model – Information and Orientation, Community Connections
Circle of Courage – Mastery, Independence, Generosity, Belonging
- aim is to help youth build resilience, confidence, achievement, and integration
- used in lesson planning and facilitation

5. What are our expansion programs?
Outside of CORE programming, what do we offer?
Transition into Post-Secondary (TIPS)
Cross-Age Mentorship Program (CAMP)
Syrian Initiative (Focus on youth from a refugee background)

6. What are our expansion programs cont’d..
The purpose is to provide programs for youth that have specific needs that cannot be addressed in our CORE programming.
The Expansion Programs are able to increase our level of innovation as they are able to “meet our youth where they are currently at” (i.e. translation, social connections, age, background, comfort level, etc.)
The innovation within our services is largely due to the diverse team of staff we hire with different skills, languages, experiences, and educational backgrounds.
Some of the program practices include Peer-to-Peer Mentoring, Guest Speakers, workshops, Field Trips, 1-1 Support with our staff, and activities/icebreakers. This offers our youth many avenues to access our programs.

7. Transition into Post-Secondary (TIPS)
What is the need?
There is a gap in support services for newcomer youth aspiring to attend post-secondary education
Objective of TIPS:
Match post-secondary student mentors with newcomer youth mentees to provide support, resources, and information to enable an effective transition into post-secondary education
The Transitioning into Post-Secondary (TIPS) program was established by the Mentorship Program of the Calgary Bridge Foundation for Youth, in partnership with the Werklund School of Education’s ServiceLearning Program at the University of Calgary. A gap in support services for newcomer youth aspiring to attend post-secondary education was identified by staff, hence TIPS was developed to meet the needs of newcomer youth who are faced with the challenges of transitioning into post-secondary education. The objective of the program is to match pre-service teachers and international student mentors with newcomer youth mentees to provide support, resources and information in order to enable an effective transition into post-secondary education and training for newcomer youth

8. Transition into Post-Secondary cont’d
Where did TIPS start?
TIPS started in partnership with UofC Werklund School of Education and the International Foundations Program (IFP)
Where is TIPS now?
Recently, TIPS made a partnership with Bow Valley College, and is seeking involvement with other Post-Secondary institutions in the future
Reason for expanding to other universities: Diversify and to offer our youth more exposure to different perspectives for Post-Secondary.

9. Cross-Age Mentorship Program (CAMP)
What is the need?
Assisting Jr. High newcomer immigrant youth in settling into school and community in Canada. Additionally, preparing Jr. High newcomer youth for the transition into Sr. High School.
Objective of CAMP:
Match Sr. High School immigrant youth with Jr. High immigrant newcomer youth to act as Peer Mentors as they assist the younger youth transition into life in Canada.
Where is CAMP now?
CAMP operates out of 2 Jr. High Schools in Canada, and uses Peer Mentors from 2 Sr. High Schools. The program continues to focus on the quality of programming delivered, implementing lessons based off of direct feedback from clients that have been in the program.

10. Syrian Initiative What is the need? Objective of Syrian Initiative:
Assisting Sr. High School youth who come from a refugee background to settle into Canada, the school system, and the community.
Objective of Syrian Initiative:
Utilize Peer Mentors (previous newcomer youth) to assist newcomer youth with a refugee background in settling into Canada, with extra support in translation. The intention is to help these youth settle into the school system, with the hopes of transitioning them into our CORE programming and/or other programs offered at the school.
Where is Syrian Initiative now?
Syrian Initiative currently operates out of 2 Sr. High Schools. The youth continue to learn more about Canada, settle into their schools, and build relationships with their peers.

11. Questions?