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p.r.o. kids
 Positive Recreation Opportunities for Kids
Application Form
Community Support
Honor Roll
Programs and Activities
Vision
All children and youth in Greater Saint John have the opportunity to participate in the arts, cultural, recreation, and sport activity of their choice.
Mission
To provide assistance to as many children and youth as possible who are unable to participate in sport, art, recreation or cultural activities due to financial limitations. Activities such as the arts, culture, recreation and sports are known to promote self-esteem, healthy growth, increased knowledge and personal development.
Background
P.R.O. Kids is a non-profit program operating out of the Leisure Services Department of the City of Saint John that matches children and teens up to (and including) the age of 18 with organized, registered recreation activities. P.R.O. Kids receives support from organizations, businesses and service providers who donate spaces in their programs, provide financial or “in kind” assistance, and/or donate supplies, equipment and transportation to and from activities and programs. Children and youth from Saint John have had the opportunity to apply to this program since 2002 and the program expanded in 2005 so that families in Quispamsis, Rothesay and Grand Bay-Westfield could also apply for funding through the program.
P.R.O. Kids is a proactive and confidential service offered to all children and youth in Saint John, Quispamsis, Grand Bay-Westfield and Rothesay. All administration costs are covered by the City of Saint John and the Towns of Grand Bay-Westfield, Quispamsis and Rothesay, allowing 100% of the funds received through donations, grants and fundraisers to go directly to the children and youth of our community.
P.R.O. Kids is a unique concept that was developed by the City of Thunder Bay in Ontario and is now implemented in many communities across Canada. P.R.O. Kids is offered in other communities in New Brunswick through the Town of Riverview, Town of Edmundston, Town of Hampton and The Western Valley Recreation Association.
Benefit to the Community
Poverty is a social issue that impacts a significant portion of our community, shown by Saint John’s staggering poverty rate of 24.5% (Saint John Vibrant Communities Leadership Roundtable’s 2004 Poverty Reduction Strategy for Saint John). If we ever hope to overcome it, we must break the cycle by assisting the next generation. Financial barriers are not limited to people defined in the official poverty statistics. For a variety of reasons, hardship is being experienced by a growing number of families.
Over the past six years, we have helped over 2,100 local children and youth to participate in many different recreation activities. Without a program such as P.R.O. Kids, these children would have been unable to participate in these activities due to financial limitations. Placing applicants through the P.R.O. Kids program assists in reducing negative poverty statistics and helps to better our community.
For additional information on P.R.O. Kids in the Greater Saint John area contact:
P.R.O. Kids Manager - 642-PLAY (-7529) or E-mail - prokids@saintjohn.ca |
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