Tag | STEAM Ahead | BGC Canada

20 years of learning, laughter, and community building – Fidelity Canada and BGC Canada celebrate 20 years of academic support and encouragement for kids

slapensee — Thu, 10 Nov 2022 15:03:05 +0000

TORONTO, Nov. 10, 2022 /CNW/ – This fall Fidelity Canada and BGC Canada (formerly Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada) are celebrating their 20^th year of partnership in helping kids and teens develop the skills they need to succeed.

“At Fidelity Canada, we are committed to giving back to the communities in which we work and live and it has been a real privilege to work with BGC Canada,” said Phil McDowell (he/him), Senior Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer, former BGC Canada Chair and BGC Foundation Board Member.

“One of Fidelity Canada’s corporate charitable giving objectives is to “open doors for young Canadians”, which is also a guiding principle of BGC Canada, and this alignment speaks to our shared purpose of supporting children and youth.”

Fidelity Canada began a national partnership with BGC Canada in 2002, supporting programs from coast to coast that help thousands of kids. Fidelity has focused its efforts on two main programs, both of which foster a positive attitude towards education and life-long learning:

PowerUp! is an after-school academic support program that encourages positive study habits, academic achievement, and fun learning activities; and,
STE(A)M Ahead!, a comprehensive education program that provides youth with the resources to introduce, enhance, and expand their skills in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math.

“Throughout the course of our partnership, Fidelity’s contributions have changed the lives of more than 30,000 children and youth across the country,” said Owen Charters (he/him), President & CEO of BGC Canada “There are very few corporate and charity partnerships that span more than 20 years – the Fidelity and BGC partnership is a truly special relationship.”

In addition to the programs support, Fidelity also hosted approximately 500 BGC Canada Club kids from the Greater Toronto Area at professional sporting events and trips to Canada’s Wonderland every year.

McDowell added, “We recognize our responsibility to drive positive change in the communities we serve. We would like to thank BGC for their partnership and look forward to continuing our work to ensure young Canadians have opportunities to grow and succeed.”

To mark two decades of making a difference, Fidelity and BGC will publish a series of social media posts highlighting the positive impact they have made together over the years.

For more information on Fidelity Canada, visit www.fidelity.ca.

Fidelity Canada

Fidelity Canada is part of the broader group of companies collectively known as “Fidelity Investments”, one of the world’s largest providers of financial services.

Consisting of Fidelity Investments Canada (FIC) and Fidelity Clearing Canada (FCC), Fidelity Canada’s mission is to build a better future for Canadian investors and help them stay ahead. FIC has $187 billion in assets under management and administration (as at November 9, 2022).

Established in 1987, FIC provides Canadian investors with innovative and trusted investment portfolios to help them reach their financial and life goals. As a privately-owned company, FIC’s people and world class resources are committed to doing what is right for investors and their long-term success. FIC’s clients include individuals, financial advisors, pension plans, endowments, foundations and more.

FIC is proud to provide investors with a full range of domestic, international and global equity and income-oriented funds, ETFs, sustainable investing products, digital asset strategies, a high net worth program and more. Fidelity funds are available through a number of advice-based distribution channels, including financial advisors and financial planners, investment dealers, banks and insurance companies, and they are also available on online trading platforms.

As part of FIC, the investment management team provides world class investment management services for retail and institutional strategies. The team is comprised of portfolio managers, equity research analysts, credit research analysts, traders and other investment professionals. With access to Fidelity Investment’s global research resources, the investment team is focused on meeting investment objectives of the products and strategies it manages and seeking to deliver strong returns for investors.

Founded in 2009, FCC is a leading provider of custody and clearing services, which provides robust, flexible, saleable and innovative solutions to registered portfolio managers, investment dealers and other institutional investors. Clients rely on FCC for expertise in wealth management technology, trading, administration and reporting and business transition. which provides them the freedom to focus on what they do best – helping investors achieve their financial goals. FCC is Canada’s first Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada regulated entity to offer a secure digital asset trading and custody solution for institutional investors including investment funds.

Sustainability at Fidelity Canada

Since FIC and FCC’s founding in Canada, Fidelity Canada has operated with two core principles embedded in everything it does – trust and integrity. As Fidelity Canada’s clients, employees and other stakeholders trust it to do the right thing and have a positive influence in the communities in which it operates and the world at large, sustainability has become a growing priority for how Fidelity Canada operates its businesses. Fidelity Canada is committed to continuously enhancing its sustainability efforts to build a better future for its clients and investors.

In 2021, Fidelity Canada was a proud recipient of the following employer awards: Canada’s Top Family-Friendly Employers, Canada’s Top 100 Employers, Greater Toronto’s Top Employers, Canada’s Top Employers for Young People for 2021, 2021 Canadian HR Awards – Best Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy and Imagine Canada Caring Company.

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 wellness, social development, leadership, and more. Opportunity changes everything. Learn more at bgccan.com and follow us on social media @BGCCAN.

Find us on social media @FidelityCanada
http://www.fidelity.ca

SOURCE Fidelity Investments Canada ULC

—

For further information:
Chris Pepper, Vice-President, Corporate Affairs, Fidelity Investments Canada ULC
T: (416) 307-5388
M: (416) 795-7762
E: chris.pepper@fidelity.ca

The post 20 years of learning, laughter, and community building – Fidelity Canada and BGC Canada celebrate 20 years of academic support and encouragement for kids first appeared on BGC Canada.

A Long-Term Investment in Canada’s Young People

radiiadmin — Fri, 15 Sep 2017 21:07:50 +0000

This summer, 500 BGC youth and staff were treated to a day at Canada’s Wonderland, thanks to Fidelity Investments.

This is just one of the many ways that Fidelity Investments gives back, and we are proud to celebrate a milestone anniversary—15 years of partnership.

Since 2002, Fidelity has worked closely with BGC Canada to change the lives of children and youth, donating over $2,000,000 to programs and scholarships that help young people develop a lifelong passion for learning, both in and out of the classroom.

The partnership began with funding for Power Up!, a national academic support program for children ages 6 – 12 that provides a supportive environment for academic achievement. Running after school, the program combines learning tools and resources with caring adult mentors to help young people develop self-directed study habits and achieve learning goals. Since 2003, the program has made a difference for over 15,000 children across the country.

Most recently, Fidelity has funded the development and launch of STEAM Ahead, a cutting-edge national program that mixes visual, auditory, and hands-on activities that focus on engineering principles and coding. Geared towards 7 – 13-year-olds, STEAM Ahead encourages children to explore STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) fundamentals and includes an artistic (A) component to encourage creativity and innovation. To date, 22 Clubs across Canada are have received grants to run the STEAM Ahead program.

And since 2010, Fidelity Investments has been donating postsecondary scholarships to BGC members, recognizing the value of investing in the academic futures of our young people.

Supporting BGC is a company-wide initiative. From volunteering at local Clubs to chairing BGC Canada’s Board of Directors, Fidelity’s employees and executives have gone above and beyond to make a difference for our young people.

The post A Long-Term Investment in Canada’s Young People first appeared on BGC Canada.

Federal Funding For STEM Empowers A New Generation Of Canadians

radiiadmin — Thu, 27 Apr 2017 21:31:07 +0000

By Owen Charters

Over March break, Isabella got to try her hand at engineering.

Volunteers from Tru Grit Engineering showed her and other members of BGC Thunder Bay how to make toy cars. Technically, they were introduced to problem-solving, propulsion physics, mechanics and mathematics. But Isabella summed it up in a much simpler way: “I really loved it because it was really fun.”

Stories like this give life to the rows of numbers that make up the 2017 federal budget and enhance the victory of an incredible $50 million over two years to teach young Canadians to code. This is a huge boost to support Canadians in developing the skills and creativity needed to compete and lead in the global innovation race.

I’m happy to see the government is committed to promoting digital skills for young people and increasing diversity in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields.

Simply put, STEM education is critical to the future success of young Canadians. We currently have a shortage of girls and newcomer, indigenous and low-income youth interested in these subjects. This opportunity gap is costly for society.

Expanding access to STEM fields for underrepresented groups would benefit everyone. Happily, there are many ways to actively strengthen skills development and create pathways to STEM careers for those who risk being left behind.

Introducing children to coding and digital skills early in their lives helps bolster interest in science, technology, engineering and math. Research also shows that adding art to STEM learning programs is like adding an on-ramp to STEM for underrepresented youth. The addition of art increases motivation for all types of learners and brings more diverse opportunities for communication and expression.

Informal STEAM programs (STEM with arts) strengthen creativity and encourage children and youth to develop better life skills and stronger connections to community. These programs also give young people the opportunity to experiment — an important lesson in trying, failing and trying again.

BGC introduces computer skills to children as young as five. As their skill level increases, kids tackle more advanced challenges like web design, digital photography and movie making. These are great ways to discover career interests.

Creating Lego robots, mastering math games and video game design also make STEM subjects more accessible for youth who struggle with academics. Out-of-school programs that help at-risk youth find different ways to be successful boost confidence, which often leads to better results in school.

But don’t just take my word for it. A youth involved in a STEAM program at one of our Clubs said it best: “I’m lucky because sometimes people don’t get the chance to do these types of activities. The purpose is to learn how to engineer so when you are older, you can choose all different types of jobs you want to do.”

By allocating funds to digital skills and STEM education, the 2017 federal budget empowers us to actively reach out to girls, indigenous children, newcomer children and children in low-income situations and reverse the lack of diversity in STEM fields.

This is an opportunity to help prepare young people with 21st century skills and strong, creative minds. And that’s good for all Canadians.

The post Federal Funding For STEM Empowers A New Generation Of Canadians first appeared on BGC Canada.