All That Kids Can Be
United Way believes that every child has the right to a good life and a safe place to grow up, learn, and make good friends—no matter where they live or their personal circumstances.
The issue
Childhood doesn’t look the same for everyone.
Across our communities, many children are navigating complex challenges that shape their development, wellbeing, and sense of belonging. They are falling behind on key developmental milestones, including opportunities to build social connections and emotional regulation skills. At the same time, children and caregivers alike are experiencing increased stress and isolation as routines and supports continue to shift.
33%
of high school students in Lanark County had tried alcohol by the age of 13 or younger.
25%
of children entering Kindergarten in Renfrew County are not on track with Language and Cognitive Development which is noticeably higher than the provincial average of 18.7%.
Our response
United Way plays a key leadership and support role in initiatives critical to meeting the needs of vulnerable children and youth. These include:
Partnering for success
We support programming for children and youth outside of school hours. This includes homework clubs, after school programs, summer camps, recreation programs, youth drop-in, and others.
A great example of this is the Ottawa Child and Youth Initiative (OCYI). OCYI is a growing cross-sector network of over 100 organizations from across Ottawa’s child and youth sectors, services, and systems, working collaboratively to improve outcomes for children, youth, and families through shared learning, coordination, and collective action.
…
United Way East Ontario President and CEO Rachael Wilson is one of 28 local leaders on the City of Ottawa’s Youth Homelessness Champions Table, established to end youth homelessness by 2030. In 2026, we launched a campaign to raise an additional $1 million to support our youth homelessness prevention efforts in the city, as we work to address this complex issue across the region.
…
Rural Youth Homelessness Network (RYHN):
The RYHN is a collaborative initiative co-chaired by United Way East Ontario and Cornerstone Landing, that brings together 25 representatives from 19 local organizations to prevent and address youth homelessness through a coordinated, cross-sectoral approach. The network provides a platform for rural partners across Prescott-Russell, Ottawa, Lanark County, and Renfrew County to share knowledge, build capacity, and advance best practices around topics like advocacy, data, and prevention. Together, we are identify system gaps and opportunities.
This multi-service community resource centre serves the remote and rural communities in west Renfrew County. They use a unique rural program model that includes taking programs and services into surrounding small towns, providing vital community connections and opportunities for rural children and youth.
The outcomes
At United Way, we partner with local, frontline agencies to deliver vital programs and services that create opportunities for children, youth, and families facing the greatest barriers. These include early childhood education, supports for young parents, after school programs, mental health and substance use counselling, and services for youth at risk of or experiencing homelessness.
As part of our commitment to accountability and impact, we track and report on how these investments make a difference.
All That Kids Can Be across our region:
13
collaborations and initiatives
35
programs
34
community agencies
As a result of these investments:
16,679
people were supported
1,772
people volunteered with our agency partners
for a total of
118,227
hours
See our impact
For a more detailed look at outcome statistics for All That Kids Can Be, please see our most recent annual report.