History

In the spring of 1990, in response to an outbreak of violence in Chinatown, a group of concerned Calgarians met to discuss the problems of foreign born youth and their families. Professional people with legal, social services, educational and medical backgrounds came together and shared their observations and ideas. From these discussions, it became apparent that what was needed was the development of a support system for immigrant youth in the educational, social, health, family and criminal justice areas. The concept of "building bridges" between the immigrant population and the mainstream population was formulated.

By November of that same year, "The Calgary Bridge Foundation for Youth" was incorporated as a not-for-profit organization. The organization obtained its charity status in the spring of 1991. Since its inception, several projects have been initiated and hundreds of immigrant youth and their families have been helped through the programs.

Vision

Bridging the journey to Canadian Life.

Mission Statement

The Calgary Bridge Foundation for Youth engages immigrant youth and families to fulfill their potential in Canadian society.

Guiding Principles

• We perceive education, accurate information and positive family support to be essential to the successful development of immigrant youth.
• We are committed to the application of sound education principles.
• We are committed to the improvement of communication among cultural communities.
• We are committed to collaboration, cooperation and coordination with other agencies and institutions of similar or related purpose.
• We are committed to programming that is practical and contextually relevant to youth.
• We believe in helping participants in our programs to help themselves