Youville Centre > mother's day

mother's day

Tag: mother’s day

Your Gift Can Change a Life like Olivia’s this Mother’s Day

This is Olivia, and her son Augustus. 

Olivia and Gus 1

As a mom, what Olivia wants most in this world is for her child to feel safe, secure, and loved. Olivia’s journey at Youville Centre has allowed her to provide opportunities for her son to grow, thrive, and learn; and she has become a strong, confident parent and young woman with a bright future ahead of her.

Olivia didn’t do this alone — help from donors like you made it possible. 

When you choose to make a donation to Youville Centre each Mother’s Day in our annual campaign, your contribution is making it possible for young moms like Olivia to succeed in ways they never thought possible. The impact of your gift doesn’t stop there; you are also making a healthy, bright future possible for the children of Youville’s young moms — children like Olivia’s son Augustus.

“It takes a village to raise a child” is not just a saying at Youville Centre — it’s a reality. You are part of our village, and we could not continue to provide opportunities for improved mental health, education, and child development for the moms and children at Youville Centre without your help.

Here is Olivia’s story — please consider giving a gift so that young moms and children at Youville Centre can continue to benefit from the same opportunities she and her son were able to access. Click here to donate now.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Olivia’s Story: 

I have so many hopes and dreams for my little boy.

I want him to be strong. I want him to have the confidence to stand for what he believes in. I want him to be successful. Most of all, I want him to be a good person.

But for a long time, I didn’t think I had what it takes to raise that kind of son. That’s how I felt when I arrived at Youville Centre: 15 years old and pregnant, depressed and doubting myself.

In high school, I experimented with drugs and alcohol. Then, after turning down a boy’s request to go out with him, I was bullied and harassed on social media. He posted the most terrible things about me on Facebook. I was called the worst names you can imagine. It was devastating. It sent me into a spiral of depression and self-harm that landed me in the hospital.

That was the first time I tried to take my own life. I had hit rock bottom. I felt like the terrible things this boy had said would follow me forever, like a dark cloud. I didn’t think I had the resilience or confidence to get through.

But today, I’m happy to tell you I see things in a whole new light.

And that’s thanks to Youville Centre, and to you.

I wanted to share my story with you in the hopes that you’ll celebrate Mother’s Day with a donation to provide young moms like me with the mental health support they need to become self-sufficient. Your kindness will empower them to be the best parent they can be.     

When I first arrived at Youville Centre, I was the youngest girl there. I had severe social anxiety and I didn’t feel like I fit in, since most of the girls had already had their babies. Then I met Jenny, one of two Mental Health and Addictions Counsellors at Youville.  

Jenny has been my support system at Youville from day one. I’ve had a lot of experience with other counsellors, but with Jenny, I felt comfortable right away. I didn’t have to lie about anything. I could put it all right there on the table.

That was the changing point for me. I started feeling better about my classes and I was soon making friends. It actually felt good to be with other girls who were going through the same thing. I didn’t have to feel alone.

Nine months after I arrived at Youville Centre, my son Augustus (Gus) was born. I worried about what kind of parent I would be. I was still living at home and although I had my parents’ support, I honestly don’t know what I would have done without Youville.

As Gus has grown up, Youville has been beside me every step of the way. When I was frustrated because I couldn’t understand what my baby was trying to tell me, the amazing childcare staff not only heard me out, but they provided suggestions that helped me feel more confident in my parenting. I joined a parenting program called Attached by the Heart, part of the Parent-Child Attachment Counselling program, where I learned how to better understand Gus’ cues and what I could do to comfort him.

Over my three years at Youville, I’ve earned almost all of my high school credits and I’m on track to graduate in June! But Youville is so much more than a high school for young moms.

Through my learning plan that focuses on my own unique strengths and skills, I’ve had the opportunity to explore my true passion—photography! I was the first member of the Sources of Strength (SOS) Program, and I’ve been working as one of the official spokespersons for 2 years. SOS is a suicide intervention program that promotes connectedness using messages of hope and strength. SOS helped so much with my own anxiety and depression, and now I’m responsible for all the photography. And you know what? I’m pretty darn good at it!

After graduation, I plan to take Business Marketing and Entrepreneurship at Algonquin College. My dream is to own my own photography business. Without Youville and without you, I don’t think I ever could have dreamed this big. I definitely wouldn’t have accomplished all that I have.

The truth is though, I’m nervous about leaving Youville. I worry about not having Jenny to lean on when things get tough and I really need someone to talk to. But I know that all the girls before me have felt the same way. Graduation Day is usually a mixture of tears of joy and sadness. Youville has been like a family for three years and I will never be able to thank them enough for all that they’ve done for me and Gus.

I want to thank you too, for supporting me and many other young moms, who have turned to Youville Centre in our greatest time of need. I hope you’ll consider making a donation today, to continue to provide a safe and supportive space that motivates, educates and nurtures two generations.

Thank you for helping me the best mom I can be for Gus.

Sincerely,

~Olivia

Youville Centre client, and mom to Augustus   

CLICK PHOTO TO DONATE:

 Olivia and gus 2

A Special Way to Honour Your Mother

Youville Centre’s annual Mother’s Day Campaign is back!

2014-Mother's-Day-postcard-1

First, we would like to express our sincere thanks to each and every one of you who honoured your mother last year with a donation to help the young moms and children at Youville Centre.

With your help we were able to double our fundraising efforts from the inaugural year of this campaign and we raised $7,000 which directly supported the innovative programs and services that serve our young mothers and children here at the centre.

This year you can help us strive toward our new goal of raising $10,000! We are hopeful that with your help we can truly show our young moms that the community is rooting for them as they work hard each day to parent and study.

The first name of each mother who is honoured will be written on a paper tulip and displayed around our centre to show our young moms the wonderful support they have from our donor community. We love to see this paper garden grow as it inspires our students daily as they climb the stairs to attend classes on the third floor.

tulips2

We also have a small card that you can give to your mother or to anyone you are honouring this Mother’s Day. We have mailed a hard copy to everyone on our newsletter mailing list but if you prefer to donate online, please feel free to print the image below out to include with your Mother’s Day card.

2014-Mother's-Day-business-card

How to Donate

Online:

Click on any image above and it will lead you directly to our donation page where you can donate online. Please tell us your mother’s first name in the Message/Instructions field.

Lettermail/In-Person:

Print out this page and fill out the information on the donation card above and either mail it to us or drop it off at 150 Mann Avenue, Ottawa ON K1N 8P4.

Phone:

Call in your information to (613) 231-5150 Ext. 128.

Thank you for considering this unique way of celebrating Mother’s Day! Please consider sharing this message within your networks.

Please note, tax receipts will be mailed to everyone who donates $25 or more (as per Canada Revenue Agency guidelines for tax receipts).

If you have any questions, please contact us at (613) 231-5150 Ext. 128.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Outpouring of Support for Mother’s Day Campaign

Mother’s Day is an important time at Youville Centre, and this May we continued our tradition with our Mother’s Day Campaign. The campaign is an annual initiative for support from the community, and it focuses on honouring mothers, both here at Youville Centre and in the community.

When donations were given, generous supporters also told us their mother’s name, as the premise of the campaign is to “honour your mother by helping the young mothers of Youville Centre”. As mothers’ names were shared with us, we wrote them on paper tulips that decorated our centre. Slowly each day as donations came in, this ‘paper garden’ grew, and our young moms saw a visual representation of our caring community.

Last year was our first year running this campaign and we were able to raise $3,500! This year we were astonished at the outpouring of support from the community as the campaign raised $7,000!


Our utmost gratitude goes out to each and every one of our donors who supported this campaign! Your donation will go directly to support the innovative programs and services we run at Youville Centre each day.

Thank you for honouring your mother — in doing so, you have directly impacted the lives of Youville Centre’s young mothers and their children.

Mother’s Day at Youville Centre ~ Thank you to our Generous Donor Community!

Thank you to everyone who contributed to our First Annual Mother’s Day Campaign this May!

The concept of the campaign was to provide an opportunity for you to honour your own mother and all that she gave to you, by giving to our young mothers and their children at Youville Centre. We were so delighted when we started seeing the response from our generous donor community, and we displayed their generosity on the wall of our entrance with the name of each honoured mother written on a paper tulip for all to see.

As the tulips went up on the walls, our students became curious, “What are those flowers for?”, they would ask. We explained to them that the flowers represented moms in our Ottawa and area community who care about them, our students and young mothers. In the end we had a wall full of tulips, reminding our young mothers each day, as they walked up the stairs to class, that there was a garden of moms behind them, providing a chance for them to grow and to provide a brighter future for their children.

Thanks to our amazing donors, we were able to raise $3,000 in this inaugural campaign, of which all proceeds will go towards supporting our daily programs and operations at Youville Centre. It was so encouraging to see this “Mom to Mom” support, and we plan to continue this campaign each year.

To celebrate Mother’s Day even further, the Kiwanis Club of Ottawa-Vanier offered each Mom a rose as a special Mother’s Day treat (pictured above), and we provided a special lunch for our students to enjoy. Mother’s Day is a pretty big deal here at Youville Centre, as we all take this time to celebrate the love and devotion our students have for their children, and now it is also a time to honour our donors’ mothers, who surely instilled the gifts of empathy, generosity and a charitable spirit in their children.

A Special Way to Honour Your Mother

This Mother’s Day, please consider honouring your mother with a special gift to the young moms and children of Youville Centre.

Mother’s Day is a very special time of year here at Youville Centre. By participating in this special initiative, your contribution will go towards helping us to continue to support our young moms and their children.

The first name of each mother who is honoured will be written on a paper tulip and displayed around our centre to show our young moms the wonderful support they have from our donor community.

How to Donate:

  • Online: Click on either image above and it will lead you directly to Youville Centre’s Canada Helps page where you can donate online. Please tell us your mother’s first name in the Message/Instructions field.
  • Mail/In-Person: Print out this page and fill out the information on the donation card above and either mail it to us or drop it off at 150 Mann Avenue, Ottawa ON K1N 8P4.
  • Phone: Call in your information to (613) 231-5150 Ext. 128.

Thank you for considering this unique way of celebrating Mother’s Day! Please consider sharing this message within your networks.

Please note, tax receipts will be mailed to everyone who donates $25 or more (as per Canada Revenue Agency guidelines for tax receipts).

If you have any questions, please contact our Communications Officer at (613) 231-5150 Ext. 128.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Youville Celebrates Mother’s Day & Mother Earth

Thanks to the Kiwanis Club of Ottawa-Vanier, this Mother’s Day we were able to offer a treat to our young Moms in the form of roses. The students really enjoyed receiving the roses and were grateful to be remembered on this special day.

Youville Centre also honoured Mother Earth with our annual Earth Day Cleanup. Students and staff worked together preparing garden beds, raking the lawn and disposing of nearby litter. It was great to see everyone pitching in to make Youville Centre sparkle.