Lead Us To Literacy And Let Us Lead!
Welcome to Sage Youth
Welcome to Sage Youth
Sage Youth’s programs provide free literacy and mentoring programs to high-need children and youth. Our goal is to support our students in becoming literate, confident community members.
We believe that literacy is the birthright of Canada's children. When students begin Sage Youth programs, they are considered to be "children at-risk". Through our programs, they move towards becoming "children in-opportunity". Our purpose is to support them in realizing their dreams.
For many disadvantaged Canadian children literary fun is no fun at all. It's about desperately struggling to become literate - struggling in silence, feeling confused and ashamed about being unable to learn, unable to understand instructions, and unable to do their homework. And as these children grow up, their low literacy skills will further hinder them in learning and understanding information essential to daily life. Information that could lead to opportunities, help them develop confidence and live a productive, safe and healthy lives. Imagine the consequences of a person with low literacy levels trying to understand an employment ad, complete a job application, decipher a rent agreement, read a transit schedule, or figure out product label instructions. These are just a few examples of the types of literacy struggles many of your fellow Canadians face on a daily basis. But that’s life—and unfortunately that’s life for 42% of Canadians!
Over 100 Volunteer Tutors contribute thousands of hours of their time and care to our students each year. We receive thousands of dollars worth of books and classroom supplies as well as professional services and donated classroom and office space. Thanks to these generous in-kind donations, the administrative expenses at Sage Youth are kept at approximately 5% of our overall budget; meaning that for every dollar donated, 95 cents goes directly to our programs.
We have virtually no bureaucracy and no red tape. We believe in the wisdom of just doing it! We have found that all it takes to significantly improve a child's life is time and a belief in the following principals:
- Excellence is the greatest deterrent to racism and poverty.
- Every child will succeed if she has one person who believes in her completely and who loves her unconditionally.
- It should never be suggested to a child that he might succeed: Promise him that he will succeed and give him the tools to do it.
Please take some time to visit our national sister charity’s website: www.excellenceinliteracy.org