age Youth - Jeunesse Sage is a nonprofit corporation and a registered charity that was established in 1992. We provide free literacy, academic and life-skills classes to high-need children between the ages of five and eighteen. Most of our students are new Canadians, many have learning disabilities, and almost all are from financially disadvantaged families. Sage Youth is based in Ottawa. Our programs are located in a homeless shelter, a community centre, and a high-school. Training, workbooks and funding programs are available nationwide through our sister charity, the Excellence in Literacy Foundation (ELF). Please go to www.excellenceinliteracy.org.

hile our primary focus is literacy, English as a second language and French as a second language, we incorporate several other academic areas into our programming. These include mathematics, Canadian studies, geography, history and science. Our life-skills workshops are an opportunity for the children and their parents to meet with other community members such as the police, teachers and health care educators to discuss a wide range of issues from safety and drug-abuse to adult literacy and nutrition. As part of our programming, we strongly encourage our students to volunteer in their neighbourhoods and to become respectful contributors to the well being of their communities.

ith the alarming incidence of illiteracy in our society and all of the consequences that accompany it, Sage Youth offers a meaningful and effective solution. Within eight weeks, our new Canadian students who arrive in our classrooms not speaking a word of English are able to read and write at a first grade level. While class-averages remain constant, most of our students improve their marks by one full grade point per semester. Virtually all of our graduates have gone on to college or university. In the past twelve years, we have taught over 5000 children to read

ver 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.

e 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:

1. Excellence is the greatest deterrent to racism and poverty.
2. Every child will succeed if she has one person who believes in her completely and who loves her unconditionally.
3. 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.

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