Background
Youth Amplified is a suite of community-focused initiatives rooted in Sheridan’s mission to unlock the transformative power of education – and help young people in our local campus-communities forge a path to postsecondary studies.
In partnership with youth-serving organizations across Halton and Peel, the programs under the Youth Amplified banner seek to intentionally forge pathways to postsecondary for equity-deserving groups. They offer youth mentorship, connections to financial aid and resources, exposure and hands-on experiences with our disciplines of strength, guidance through the postsecondary application process, a window into student life, and more.
Youth Amplified delivers on the aspirations in Sheridan’s Strategic Plan to contribute meaningfully to the needs of our local communities across Peel and Halton Regions.
By connecting deeply and listening to the needs of our local community partners and youth, we can strengthen access to postsecondary education together.
Our impact
- 2021/22 Youth Amplified Annual Report
- Cyber Smart pilot program for youth delivered by Sheridan a success
- More Bigs and more Littles as Sheridan expands Bigs on Campus
- Youth in care now eligible for tuition bursary at Sheridan
- Sheridan recognized as ‘COVID Wonder’ for community partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Peel
- Youth Amplified at Sheridan joins the Actua Network
- Mentorship unites youth and Sheridan volunteers in BIGS On Campus
- Sheridan's partnership with Home Suite Hope gives students a bright future
- 2020/21 Youth Amplified Impact Report
Programs
Youth Amplified is thrilled to facilitate FREE workshops, camps and other programs for youth in Halton and Peel.
-
Go Where Kids Are! 1-hour STEAM workshops
Topics: Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM)
Age: Grades 1–8
Group size: ~15–20 youthOur Sheridan Student STEAM Instructors facilitate 1-hour workshops in the after-school hours at community partner locations, on campus or virtually for children and youth in Grades 1 to 8. The ideal group size is typically 15–20 youth at a time.
Workshops include fun hands-on activities and span a range of STEAM topics, such as:
- All About Plants
- Building Slingshot Cars
- Building Solar Panel Cars
- Building Bridges
- Chemical Reactions
- Coding
- Invention Marathon
- States of Matter Challenge
- Tall Tower Challenge
- Wax Resist Watercolor Painting
- And more!
To inquire about partnering with us for STEAM workshops for Winter or Spring 2023 at your organization’s location, please contact Julia Catalano at julia.catalano@sheridancollege.ca
-
Engage. Empower. Connect. (E2C) ™ Actua Cybersmart Program
Topic: Engaging in positive digital experiences to foster a cybersmart generation.
Customized for three age groups: Grades 2–4; Grades 5–7; and Grades 8–10
Program duration: 1-hr weekly sessions for 6 weeksIn partnership with youth-serving organizations across Halton and Peel, our Sheridan Student STEAM Instructors facilitate the 6-week Actua E2C Cybersmart program (in-person and virtually).
In 1-hour weekly sessions over 6 weeks, our instructors will build positive digital engagement and experiences to help youth feel empowered online. The goal is to foster a cybersmart generation ready to embrace the challenges of the digital age.
Weekly topics include:
- Digital citizenship
- Online identity
- Detecting misinformation online, artificial intelligence
- Netiquette and cyberbullying
- Cryptography (i.e., setting strong passwords and authentication)
- Detecting phishing and viruses
The program is customized for three age/grade cohorts: Grades 2–4; Grades 5–7; and Grades 8–10.
To inquire about partnering with us for the E2C Cybersmart program for Winter or Spring 2023 at your organization’s location, please contact Julia Catalano at julia.catalano@sheridancollege.ca
-
Skills Ontario Summer Camps
Topic: Hands-on activities relevant to the skilled trades.
Age: Grades 7 & 8
Program duration: Week-long (Monday–Friday) day programs during the month of JulyIn partnership with Skills Ontario, Sheridan College will be hosting week-long day camp programs this summer for students entering grades 7 & 8. Through hands-on activities relevant to the skilled trades, campers develop communication, problem-solving and teamwork skills.
Campers take part in hands-on counselor and industry-led workshops that introduce them to a variety of topics in the industrial, construction, motive power, services and technology sectors; they explore careers in skilled trades through interactive games, industry tours and entrepreneurship programs.
Location: Sheridan’s Davis Campus, 7899 McLaughlin Road, Brampton
Time: 8:45 a.m.–4 p.m.
Dates:
Week 1
Monday, July 8, 2024 – Friday, July 12, 2024
Week 2
Monday, July 15, 2024 – Friday, July 19, 2024
Week 3
Monday, July 22, 2024 – Friday, July 26, 2024
For more information, please visit skillsontario.com/camp
Connect
For more information, please fill out this form or contact:
Julia Catalano
Community Engagement Specialist
Email: julia.catalano@sheridancollege.ca
Partnerships
The Youth Amplified strategy seeks to collaborate with community-based youth organizations in Peel and Halton that align with our strategy’s purpose and approach to giving sightline and eliminating barriers to postsecondary education – ultimately supporting and empowering all youth to reach their full potential.
This can take on several formats:
- Co-designing new initiatives together
- Bringing content-specific workshops to your existing programs/youth groups
If you are a local youth-serving organization interested in collaborating with us, please fill out the following form to get started. We look forward to connecting with you!
Meet some of our community partners
Memberships
Actua
Sheridan College is a proud network member of Actua, a national network of like-minded programs.
Actua provides training, resources and support to its national network of members located at universities and colleges across Canada in the delivery of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education outreach programming. Each year, these members engage over 350,000 youth in 500 communities nationwide. Please visit Actua at www.actua.ca.
Additionally, we would like to recognize Actua’s National funders whose support also benefits our programs.
2023-24 Actua National Funders
Resources
Sheridan’s teams are ready to support members of our community who may be considering postsecondary studies, whether by sharing a glimpse of life at Sheridan or helping you navigate the application process.
Please review the resources below to learn about the many pathways and resources available to help you get started.
