Yoga for Youth At Risk Program

YYAR
Yoga for Youth At-Risk

Who We Are
For 24 years, the Ottawa Radha Yoga Centre (ORYC) has been offering yoga classes both at our centre on Cooper Street as well as in the community. Our classes and workshops are based on the teachings of Swami Sivananda Radha, a leading pioneer in bringing yoga to the West. We are nonprofit and a branch of a national charity, the Friends of Radha Foundation.

Mission
The Yoga for Youth at Risk program has a two-fold purpose:

1 Our vision is to provide marginalized young people with a safe space to learn about self-care, to gain self-esteem and to encourage healthy life style choices. We aim to promote improved self-confidence, healthy coping strategies and positive participation in the community by maintaining physical and mental health.
2 Our second aim is to employ a young adult (under 30) trained at our centre, Yasodhara Ashram in British Columbia (www.yasodhara.org), to direct this program. The job responsibilities include teaching yoga classes to the youth at-risk program, developing curriculum, maintaining public relations with community youth agencies, making public presentations on the program and assisting with fundraising.

Partnerships

Youth Services Bureau Drop in Centre                                  Elizabeth Fry Society
Youth Services Bureau Young Women’s Shelter                    Youville Centre
Pinecrest/Queensway Health and Community Centre            Operation Go Home  
Ottawa Nepean Osgoode Resource Centre                             Hopewell                   
St. Mary’s Home                                                                  Elizabeth WynWood Alternate School
Bethany Hope Centre                                                           Brookfield/McHugh High School (ROH)
YouthNet (CHEO)                                                                 Richard Pfaff Alternate School
Big Sisters of Ottawa                                                            Christie Lake STAR Program
McNabb Community Centre

Financial Support

In our fourth year of programming, YYAR is looking to improve our long-term sustainability. In the past, we have provided fully subsidized services to some of the agencies with whom we work. This year, we are asking our partners to share in the design and delivery costs of our services whenever possible, with the intention of continuing YYAR's programming for years to come.The ORYC received a grant from the Community Foundation in June 2007, and also engages in extensive fundraising to support the salary of our Youth Coordinators.

Contact Us!
613.236.3545                 617 Cooper St Ottawa               www.radha.org/ottawa          

yogaforyouth@ca.inter.net