Eight Canadian non-profit organizations will receive $25,000 to help homeless youth

The Home Depot Canada Foundation (CNW Group/The Home Depot of Canada Inc.)

The Home Depot Canada Foundation Orange Door Awards help prevent and end youth homelessness in Canada

TORONTO, March 28, 2017 /CNW/ - Eight Canadian non-profit organizations are getting a boost in their efforts to prevent and end youth homelessness through The Home Depot Canada® Foundation's Orange Door Awards.

Youth advisors play a central role in selecting the Orange Door Award winners each year. The advisors draw on their own lived experience to evaluate the applications, ensuring that each $25,000 grant goes where it will make the biggest impact in building brighter futures for youth.

"It meant a lot to me to turn the adversity I've experienced into something positive by contributing to a project like this one," said Tyler Henderson, a youth advisor with the Street Youth Planning Collaborative – Youth Leaders Committee. "It feels good to contribute to something bigger than yourself."

The award recipients for 2017 are:

• British Columbia: Kamloops A Way Home Committee to End Youth Homelessness
• Manitoba: Macdonald Youth Services (Winnipeg)
• Newfoundland: Choices for Youth (St. John's)
• Nova Scotia: YWCA (Halifax)
• Ontario: Windsor Youth Centre, Youth Opportunities Unlimited (London), oneROOF Youth Services (Kitchener), Wyndham House (Guelph)

The Orange Door Awards is one of three grant programs available through The Home Depot Canada Foundation to support organizations working with homeless and vulnerable youth.

"We're committed to preventing and ending youth homelessness in Canada," said Jeff Kinnaird, chair, board of directors, The Home Depot Canada Foundation and president, The Home Depot Canada. "Over the past three years we've supported the work of more than 300 non-profit organizations, giving them the chance to help more youth in need."

Quick Facts

• Six youth advisors from Hamilton's Street Youth Planning Collaborative Youth Leaders Committee evaluated the applications and helped select the winners. The advisors, aged 16 to 21, have personally experienced street-involvement or homelessness.
• Homelessness can begin as young as age 13 – and if not addressed, can lead to years on the streets (source: Without a Home: The National Youth Homelessness Survey).
• The Home Depot Canada Foundation has established a thought leadership advisory council and supported new research to better understand the circumstances and needs of homeless youth in Canada.

About The Home Depot Canada Foundation:
The Home Depot Canada Foundation is committed to helping prevent and put an end to youth homelessness in Canada. On any given night, more than 6,000 young people are without a place to call home, making youth homelessness one of the most urgent social issues facing Canadians today. Through The Orange Door Project initiative, the Foundation has pledged $20 million by 2018 to improve housing options, support life-skills development programs, and invest in research that ensures funding is directed to the most effective solutions designed to help youth build brighter futures. For more information, please visit: www.orangedoorproject.ca.

SOURCE The Home Depot of Canada Inc.

To coordinate a media interview or photo opportunity, please contact: Kathleen Rose, Public Relations Specialist, The Home Depot Canada, 647-292-4591 / [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.homedepot.ca