BGC Winnipeg (formerly known as the Boys and Girls Club of Winnipeg) works in collaboration with their local Old Navy and their This Way ONward program to teach BGC Club youth important skills for the workforce and prepare them to land their first job at Old Navy

Old Navy has been a proud partner of BGC Canada since 2005, helping prepare the next generation of leaders for workplace success. Old Navy’s This Way ONward program helps Clubs provide youth with job readiness training, by offering real-world work experience with on-the-job skill building, alongside one-on-one mentorship and coaching. This program aims to help young people unlock their career potential and can help youth get their first job or prepare them for the next step in their career. This Way ONward provides a safe space for young people to learn the skills necessary to build a more secure future and successful career.

On Thursday, April 28, 2022, at BGC Winnipeg’s Annual General Meeting, the Club honoured volunteers from their local Old Navy with the ‘Community Spirit Group Award’, which is given annually to a corporate partner that provides exceptional support and goes above and beyond to assist their local BGC Club.

This Way ONward has been in high demand among youth at BGC Winnipeg since its inception three years ago. Since then, 30 of the 50 young people from the Club who applied for jobs have been hired at Old Navy or Old Navy–related stores.

Program participants are granted a job interview with Old Navy, but BGC Winnipeg staff shared that the real magic of the program actually happens before.

Club and Old Navy staff help the youth prepare by hosting activities like workshops and practice interviews. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Old Navy would also invite Club youth to tour their stores and get behind-the-scenes glimpses of the work that goes into running them. Club youth get a chance to sit down with Old Navy staff members and learn about their work experiences in the retail industry.

In Winnipeg, this local partnership has been a win-win situation for everyone involved: the local BGC Club, Club youth, and the Old Navy store. Old Navy was an obvious choice for BGC Winnipeg when choosing their Community Spirit Award recipient because they have been working together for decades. In fact, when considering which corporate partner to recognize, BGC Winnipeg’s Community Engagement Director, Heather Black, pulled out pictures of Old Navy staff at the Club from the early 2000s.

This Way ONward seeks to remove barriers to employment for youth and meets them halfway to assist based on their needs. These opportunities have been important for the youth, Jocelyn said, because “it’s one thing for us to tell the youth about employment…and work with them on resumes and such but it’s another when you say ‘ok, the store manager is going to come, and they want to spend some time with you’”. Overall, she would say the program has been “a really positive experience for a lot of our youth” and has “made a big impact, over the last few years especially”.

The program allows Old Navy staff to build authentic connections with the youth at the Club, where they feel most confident removing the typical power dynamic in a standard interview situation. The participants already knew their co-workers when they got the job from the workshops and had mentor-like relationships with them that eased them into the workforce. Jocelyn said that these experiences “show youth this is what your first job could be like, you can do it”.

Old Navy staff are very active at the BGC Winnipeg Club, and BGC participants become well acquainted with them. Not only are they active in community events such as family barbeques, Christmas, clothing donations, and food drives but they also spend hours playing games with the youth and getting to know them personally. These relationships have not only helped the clubs operate and provide services to the community, but it has helped BGC youth in the long run. For many of the participants, this was the first time they had gotten a job. While this could have made some of the teenagers nervous, their nerves were alleviated by the close relationship many of them built with the Old Navy staff before completing an interview.

One of the youth participants of the program, Jeremy, seconded this. Jeremy was a member of the BGC Winnipeg club for approximately 10 months. He was looking for a job in Grade 11, when his school guidance counsellor connected him to Jocelyn at BGC Winnipeg and he joined This Way ONward. He describes his overall experience in the program as “very fun” and noted that the program helped him gain confidence in his ability to get a job. He worked at Old Navy for nine months and said, “every single one of them [employees and workers at Old Navy] was great”. He even gained “quite a few friends” from his time there and helped his friend get a job there as well.

Jeremy felt that the skills he gained from the program “has prepared me for a lot more in the rest of my life”. He learned to write a resume during one of his BGC workshops, which he still uses now, and gained practical skills such as how to fold clothing, planning, training other people how to do the job, and how to be a leader. The experience taught him “a little bit about myself, and a little bit about others too”.

The This Way ONward program has been particularly popular with older teens at BGC Winnipeg, who are seeking their first job or a seasonal position, to help build their work experience. But Jocelyn also shared that there is demand amongst younger teenagers, who are 14 or 15, and eager to join the program, but need to wait until they are 16 to participate. This is great news for Old Navy, because there is a steady stream of prospective employees who have been trained in job readiness at their local BGC Club. Those who are old enough to apply, and have been chosen, are always able to stay on for longer periods of time if they wish to. Stephanie Mclean, who is an Old Navy Community District Leader, said there is always room for talent at Old Navy.

Overall, working together on the This Way ONward program has been positive for everyone involved. Both Jocelyn and Stephanie repeated that working with each other “never felt like work” and Stephanie mentioned that because BGC is “an organization that really cares about young people”, she felt she was “making a difference in someone’s life”. When I asked Jeremy whether he would recommend this program to others, he responded, “Absolutely, yes. 100%”.

Published August 19 on CNW / Cision

Many national partners will donate and run cause campaigns to help BGC Clubs

Toronto, ON, August 19, 2021 – Whether online or in-person, when kids and teens go back to school in September, BGC Clubs across the country will be there to support them, thanks to generous funding from several caring companies.

The pandemic has been difficult for many Canadians, especially young people, and even more so for those from vulnerable and equity-deserving populations. While school supplies are always essential, our Clubs will also offer a wide range of supports that so many young people will need during the school year, from PPE to homework help, postsecondary planning to mental health check-ins, peer support groups to healthy meals before and after school, and so much more.

As the 200,000 kids and teens BGC Clubs support at 736 locations across Canada head back to school this September, many of our corporate partners have shown their dedication to young people and families through significant donations and national cause campaigns:

• Kleenex® is supporting children’s learning by donating $100,000 to BGC Clubs’ educational programs, resources, and school supplies. Kleenex is celebrating this exciting partnership with exclusive BGC back-to-school graphics on their 6-packs and 16-packs that are available in stores across Canada
• TELUS Friendly Future Foundation & TELUS: TELUS will be matching all customer donations made in-store in August and September up to $25,000 (total across all locations), a portion of sales from select sponsored products will be donated to local Clubs up to $95,000, and the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation has committed $100,000 to revitalize our youth mental health program Flex Your Head
• The Coca-Cola Foundation is generously donating $1 million over two years to support our Keystone youth leadership program and academic support initiatives at BGC Clubs
• Michaels Canada: For the month of August, customers can purchase select school supplies at any Michaels store and they will be donated to local BGC Clubs
• Old Navy: From August 6 to August 12, Old Navy customers who donate $5 or more to BGC Canada will receive $5 in instant savings on store purchases of $35 or more. The funds support job readiness program This Way ONward
• M&M Food Market: From August 26 to September 15, M&M customers will be encouraged to donate in-store and online to support after-school programming at BGC Clubs
• Lube: For the month of August, customers can support BGC Canada by donating to the Kids Drive Program at local Mr. Lube stores
• OSL Retail Services is donating $70,000 to support #BGCBack2School and after-school programming at BGC Clubs

The generosity of our supporters will allow BGC Clubs to continue providing safe places, in-person and virtual programs tailored to community need, and healthy, empowering relationships that help young people develop the confidence and resiliency they need to thrive when they return to school and for years to come.

If you would like to help, please consider donating to our #BGCBack2School campaign.

About BGC Canada
For 120+ years, BGC Canada has been creating opportunities for millions of Canadian kids and teens. As Canada’s largest child and youth serving charitable and community services organization, our Clubs open their doors to young people of all ages and their families at 736 locations nationwide. During out-of-school hours in small and large cities, and rural and Indigenous communities, our trained staff and volunteers provide programs and services that help young people realize positive outcomes in self-expression, academics, healthy living, physical activity, job readiness, mental health, social development, leadership, and more. Opportunity changes everything. Learn more at bgccan.com and follow us on social media @BGCCAN.

Media contact:
Jared Morrow
Media Relations Manager
jmorrow@bgccan.com
905-477-7272 x2202

Old Navy to donate $1 million to Boys & Girls Clubs of America and $100,000 to BGC Canada to support arts programming

TORONTO, Jan. 28, 2021 – Today Old Navy announces the launch of Project WE, a collection of graphic tees designed by diverse artists to imagine a more inclusive world through art. The WE tees honour cultural moments and movements including Black History Month, International Women’s Day, Pride, Juneteenth and LatinX Heritage Month. In celebration of the initiative, Old Navy is donating $1 million to Boys & Girls Clubs of America and $100,000 to Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada to support youth arts programs in communities across North America.

“Project WE is an artists’ collaboration with a mission,” said Sarah Holme, Old Navy’s Executive Vice President of Design. “We wanted to give these incredible artists a canvas to share their visions, and we hope the works will inspire and spark conversation within our communities.”

Black History Month – Artist Reyna Noriega

Project WE kicks off in celebration of February’s Black History Month with a special edition tee designed by Reyna Noriega, a Miami-based visual artist and educator known for her passion to teach and inspire. Noriega’s design is a beautiful representation of women of colour, celebrating different skin tones, body types and hairstyles.

“I let my own culture shine through in my work, in hopes others can see representation for their experiences and feel empowered,” said Noriega.

International Women’s Day – Artist Jade Purple Brown

The second edition of the Project WE tees was designed by NYC-based artist Jade Purple Brown to commemorate International Women’s Day on March 8. Brown’s powerful design celebrates the collective power of women coming together as “WE” through her use of strong figures, vibrant colours and optimism.

“This tee is all about women uniting, creating the unimaginable, and reimagining the future of what we all can create together,” said Brown.

The first two editions of the Project WE tees are available at Oldnavy.ca and in stores, with styles available for the whole family.

Giving Back to the Arts

In honour of the Project WE collection, Old Navy is donating $1 million to Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) and $100,000 to Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada (BGCC) to support youth arts programs across North America. Research shows participation in the arts is tied to positive outcomes ranging from greater self-esteem to rates of college attendance. But fifty percent of the lowest income elementary schools lack an arts classroom, indicating an opportunity gap in arts education. BGCAs aim to close that gap by providing equitable access to arts experiences to help youth achieve great futures.

Old Navy is committed to creating a better future for future generations through The Imagine Mission (OldNavy.ca/Imagine) and has partnered with BGCA and BGCC for decades to provide opportunities for kids that need them the most. In addition to funding ongoing arts education, Old Navy’s donation will also underwrite BGCA’s National Arts Contest which recognizes young artists and their accomplishments in visual, digital and performing arts.

Old Navy will continue to announce upcoming Project WE artist collaborations throughout the year as part of its mission to imagine a better future through art.

About Old Navy
Old Navy is a global apparel and accessories brand that makes current American essentials accessible to every family. Originated in 1994, the brand celebrates the democracy of style through on-trend, playfully optimistic, affordable and high-quality products. A division of San Francisco-based Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS), Old Navy brings a fun, energizing shopping environment to its customers in more than 1,200 stores around the world. For more information, please visit www.oldnavy.com.