The YWCA Child Development Centre is a 62-space centre providing an enriching environment for children aged 18 months to five years. The Centre emphasizes acceptance and support for all children regardless of background or ability. Our staffing ratios exceed provincial requirements, allowing us to provide more individual attention to our children. We exist to give parents peace of mind and to enhance children’s experiences outside of their home environments.

LAST YEAR:

• Approximately 25 percent of the children in our centre received subsidies because of limited family income
• 25 percent of the children served spoke English as a second language, and
• with access to the entire complement of YWCA services, children experienced a variety of additional programs including swimming lessons and gym activities.

We believe that universal childcare is critical and makes sense – for families and for communities. It is donor support that enables us to provide all families, regardless of financial ability, access to quality care and programming.

As the largest women’s emergency shelter in Saskatchewan, we see first hand the homelessness crisis Saskatoon is currently experiencing. The YWCA Crisis Shelter and Residence provides short-term safety and security for women and their children who have no place to go, and longer-term supported living for women and at-risk youth. Whether clients are staying in the Shelter or living in the Residence, they have access to one-on-one and group counselling as well as a variety of life-skills programming. The need is great and every service we provide is consistently and fully utilized every day of the year. Donor support is critical to providing our residents the opportunity to return to successful independent living in the community.

LAST YEAR:

• we served 951 shelter clients (including 353 children), 89 at-risk youth and 22 resident clients
• the average shelter stay was 19 days
• 3,334 women and children were turned away because there was no room
• we provided crisis counseling to 434 women, men and youth over the phone, and
• 11 women moved out of the residence into independent living.

Sustainable employment is critical to independence and self-sufficiency for individuals, families and the community, and the YWCA Employment and Learning Centre supports individuals in this process. We are committed to helping individuals gain increased confidence and ability in pursuit of their goals. Whether the need is a single appointment to prepare a resume or longer-term counseling to gain life and work skills, we are committed to supporting individuals on their life’s journeys.

LAST YEAR:

• 119 individuals who accessed one of our programs found work
• one individual became self-employed
• 26 individuals went on to further education or training opportunities
• 251 individuals registered for computer classes, and
• 1,900 visits were made to the computer lab during public access time.

We offer unique services in an effort to build up our community one person at a time. “There was a strong recognition of my strengths and abilities that empowered me to apply for positions with confidence – confidence that can get deflated when searching for a job on your own.” – Job Search Program Participant

YWCA Fitness on 25th is a fully accessible co-ed fitness centre, located in the heart of downtown Saskatoon. We offer a wide selection of land and aquatic fitness classes. Our personal trainers are all CPT/CEP certified to provide comprehensive personal training packages. Our fitness centre includes a variety of cardio machines, weight machines, and free weights, and our aquatics facility is ideal for lane swimming, Red Cross swimming lessons, and a variety of fitness programming. We offer a quality fitness experience for our members. Donor support further enables YWCA Saskatoon to serve the community by providing access to individuals who would otherwise be unable to utilize fitness facilities, aquatic programs, or day camps.

LAST YEAR WE RAN:

• 1,650 aquafit classes
• 2,080 swim lessons
• 5,150 aquatic programs, and
• 1,297 land programs including yoga, pilates and dance.

AND WE SAW:

• 16,800 aquafit and 8,302 land fitness class participants
• 640 day camp kids and their families
• 5,800 visits by special needs users, and
• 400 shelter residents and their children access the pool and fitness centre.