We Believe in Youth
Cornerstone Youth Centre, founded in 1994, is a grassroots, non-profit organization dedicated to equipping youth with life skills and strong mentorship to prepare them for success beyond our doors. Our goal is to "fill their toolbelts" with the resources they need to navigate life’s challenges before they arise—prevention is key.
We work with a small cohort of youth, each paired with a mentor for weekly goal-setting sessions. These meetings focus on support, resources, barriers, and successes. Achievements are celebrated with meaningful rewards, reinforcing progress.
Four times a week, we run tailored life skills programs based on the 40 Developmental Assets — 40 research-backed experiences and traits that shape young people’s growth, guiding them toward becoming caring, responsible, and successful adults. Our programs are customized to fit each cohort’s skills, interests, and abilities, ensuring relevant and impactful learning.
Preparing youth
for a brighter future.
Programs
We offer free research-based preventative programs. Programming runs each day from 4:30 to 5:30 pm (2:30 to 3:30 pm during the summer). Designed by our Youth Workers to meet the developmental asset needs indicated by the youth who attend our centres, our programs have a different theme each day and it is optional for youth to participate or not.
Our programs come in the form of crafts, activities, presentations, discussions and guest speakers with every program having a facilitated debrief afterwards to discuss the intended outcomes.
Methodology
Every four months, our registered youth complete an intensive professional survey through The SEARCH Institute designed to both highlight the youth's current needs as well as the effectiveness of our program facilitation. These survey results guide our daily programs and, as a result, we change our focus areas every four months.
Designed to act as preventative measures to build resiliency, our programming better equips youth to resolve current issues and make healthy choices once outside the centre.
Get Involved!
Do you have something you’d like to share with our youth? Let us know! As part of our informal programming, we invite outside agencies or individuals to present, perform, teach, or engage our youth in a wide range of topics.
Our Partners
Skip the Depot
We are also grateful to have the support of Donate a Car Canada, which accepts Vehicle Donations for Cornerstone Youth Centre. Free towing is provided in most areas across Canada, or you can drop off your vehicle to maximize your donation. When you donate your car, truck, RV, boat, or motorcycle to Cornerstone Youth Centre through Donate A Car Canada, it will either be recycled or sold at auction (depending on its condition, age and location). Donate a Car Canada will look after all the details to make it easy for Cornerstone Youth Centre to benefit. After completing your vehicle donation, our charity will send you a tax receipt and put your gift to good use. Click here to donate your car now!
Land Acknowledgement
With gratitude, mutual respect, and reciprocity, we acknowledge the ancestral home, culture, and oral teachings of the Treaty 7 signatories, which include the Siksika Nation, Piikani Nation, Kainai Nation, the îethka Stoney Nakoda Nation, consisting of the Chiniki, Bearspaw, and Good Stoney Bands, and the people of the Tsuut’ina Nation. The City of Calgary is also homeland to the historic Northwest Métis and to the Otipemisiwak Métis Government, Métis Nation Battle River Territory, Nose Hill Métis District 5 and Elbow Métis District 6.