For self and other

Welcome to International Child and Youth Care Week. Because it is a time to celebrate CYC, we thought it would be appropriate to celebrate some special people “those who support CYC-Net. Below is a picture of the students of the Child and Youth Care Course at Nova Scotia Community College (TRURO) holding a cheque representing the results of their efforts to raise money for CYC-Net.

Imagine, eh? Students who care enough about CYC-Net to take the time to engage in activities to raise funds to ensure its future. That has to be a credit to their instructors “especially Kelly and Jeff “who think that it is a useful resource for the students “and the students responded by making their own statement.

We are honoured that the students and their college think CYC-Net is worth their personal investment or time and energy. During this, the month in which we find International Child and Youth Care Week, we thought it was appropriate to recognise them. Efforts like theirs help to keep CYC-Net available for those who cannot afford it “and there are a lot of people, we know, who are grateful to them.

The Nova Scotia Community College (TRURO) is without a doubt the strongest academic supporter of CYC-Net. Not only does the TRURO campus make their annual subscription contribution, but they encourage their students to support it financially and the students and staff participate in the Discussion Group. Well done.

But it is not only students who actively support CYC-Net. The staff of Homebridge Youth Society in Halifax regularly make a monthly donation to CYC-Net through a regular payroll deduction system. It’s not much per staff and it really adds up in the end to a significant amount overall each year. So, there is a group of staff who know what they believe and value. There is a group of staff who want to see CYC-Net stay alive.

Cheers to you, Staff of Homebridge “which is, by the way, the strongest agency supporter of CYC-Net that we know. During this time of Child and Youth Care Week, we salute you as well!

Organisations and agencies support CYC-Net as well. Like Kibble Education and Care Centre, which for the past few years has made a significant contribution to the costs of running CYC-Net. Or Bartimauus, who last year made a 5 year commitment of support. Associations also offer their support, like the NACCW of South Africa, or the Canadian Council of Child and Youth Care Associations.

There are many others who support CYC-Net as well “individuals, organisations, educational programs, teams and agencies: too many for us to name them all here but you can find their names on our site. Some offer financial support, some offer other types of support and we are grateful to all of you.

Without your on-going support CYC-Net could not be so available to all of those who cannot afford to support it. Like the isolated worker in Northern Canada who’s agency does not recognise the potential value of employees staying in touch. Or the worker in Zambia for whom even $10 would be too much; or the student in Ireland who is alone in recognising the value of CYC-Net.

And because of them, I want to offer the rest of you a challenge “how about doing the same in your organisation, agency or association? We would, of course, be grateful “and so would all of those who, without such support, could not have access to such a resource.

During this, International Child and Youth Care Week, how about thinking of how you can offer the support necessary (and possible for you) to help keep CYC-Net freely available to the front line worker everywhere “for that, surely, is a goal worth meeting.

For self, and for other: the best of Child and Youth Care.

Cheers.

Thom