Grassroots Youth Collaborative

The Grassroots Youth Collaborative (GYC) was formed in May 2004 to advocate for policies that empower young people to have a voice and contribute to their communities. We are a collective of culturally and racially diverse youth-led organizations that work in underserved, lower-income, at-risk communities where violence, especially youth violence, is regularly in the media spotlight. The programs delivered by our members reach out and engage young people who are typically missed by more mainstream youth programming.

Currently, the GYC consists of eleven member organizations including:

• 4Unity Media Arts Association (4Unity)
• Beatz to Da Streetz
• Canadian-Tamil Youth Development Centre (CANTYD)
• For Youth Initiative (FYI)
• Phase 1 Step Team
• Rathburn Area Youth (RAY)
• Regent Park Focus
• The REMIX Project
• Schools Without Borders (SWB)
• Somali Youth Association of Toronto (SOYAT)
• and the Young Diplomats Ethiopian Youth Association.

Together we work to achieve the following objectives:

1. Strengthen our capacity as youth driven organizations to serve our communities

2. Provide a forum for youth driven organizations to strategize about issues and share resources and information

3. Conduct, collect and disseminate research on effective youth engagement strategies

4. Promoting and educating decision-makers on the value of youth driven organizations

5. Advocate for government policies that empower young people to have a voice and contribute to their communities

6. Work with social movements that fight to address issues within our communities