Founded | 1978 |
---|---|
Type | Educational Charity |
Focus | immigrant settlement, language training, employment services, child care |
Location | |
Origins | Old City of York, Ontario |
Area served | Toronto |
Key people | Executive Director: Peter Frampton |
Employees | 279 |
Website | www.lefca.org |
The Learning Enrichment Foundation (LEF) is a Toronto-based organization that provides multiple services with a focus on skills training and economic development. The foundation provides immigrant settlement, supports language training, career exploration, job search support, youth programs, and mentorship along with a variety of other skills training. The foundation is an advocate of integrated employment programs and accessible child care.
In the late 1970s, The Borough of York (now a municipality of Toronto) was going through a major economic downturn with closed factories, high unemployment, and vacancies. This caused a decline in both incomes and tax revenue, deflating rent prices. As a result, the region became attractive to a wave of recent immigrants. However, without the tax revenue, the Borough was unable to provide adequate social, education, and employment services.
In response to these circumstances, a group of community stakeholders formed a charitable organization which incorporated itself as the Learning Enrichment Foundation in 1978. LEF started by providing multicultural theatre for children but quickly diversified into skill training and youth counseling.
Over the years, LEF has continued to initiate programs and services that reflect the needs of the local community. As a reception area for recent immigrants and as part of the Greater Toronto Area with the highest levels of poverty indicators, there was much to be accomplished. LEF now is a leader in community economic development, particularly as it relates to human capital, and still serves the local community. However, poverty and unemployment are not unique to the former City of York, and LEF continues to attract people from across the GTA.
In the early 1980s, LEF opened child care centers and launched employment services and skills training programs. [1] Programs and services include skill training in areas where there are local jobs, job search, counselling, recruitment service for employers, self-employment training and support, training enterprises including LEF Wood Works and Cooks Training for at-risk youth, technology help desk, computer access sites, Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) classes and literacy classes, a training loan fund, several social enterprises, 18 child care centers and 16 Before & After School Programs and a kitchen in which LEF prepares 500 meals a day through a partnership with Second Harvest. These meals go to agencies that serve the homeless. LEF provides a hearty soup lunch to all clients in the building every Thursday and to LINC nursery children (30 to 35) every day.
By 1991, LEF outgrew its facility and moved into its current location on Industry Street.LEF has developed many cooperative relationships with many different government departments as well as local organizations and networks in order to plan, improve, and develop innovative solutions to local needs. These include social service (e.g. Second Harvest), immigrant service (e.g. OCASI), child care (e.g. York Early Years), disadvantaged youth (e.g. The Court’s Diversionary Program), and ex-convicts (Pardons Canada).
In relation to local employment, the cooperative relationships include specific skill training and recruitment for local employers, sharing job leads with 300 community partners weekly, active networking with many other organizations, umbrella groups, and individuals, through referrals, collaboration, and regular meetings. LEF is a founding member of The Canadian Community Economic Development Network and is active on membership and Human Capital Development Committees and on the Policy Council. LEF is also a founding member of the Ontario and the Canadian CAP Networks.
To address Toronto's growth of cycling and the consequent need for skilled bicycle mechanics, the Learning Enrichment Foundation partnered with the Bicycle Trade Association of Canada to create a training program. Launched in the winter of 2009, the first set of graduates will be ready for placements by April 2009.
LEF operates a free employment servicethat connects job seekers and employers. In addition, it runs a career exploration program, operates a resource center, and maintains a "windfall cupboard" that gives clothing for interviews.
The organisation provides several programs such as Early Childhood Assistant (ECA) training, Building Maintenance, and The Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) training.
LEF operates workshops that can incur weekly or one off for a set period. These are usually events that are based on the needs of the local community or intake for trainings during a set time.
The Learning Enrichment Foundation runs an English as a second language program called Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) & English as a Second Language (ESL) which all Permanent Residents or Convention Refugees are eligible to take for free.[7]
In addition, the Foundation runs a Digital Literacy class which aims to improve overall computer skills.
LEF operates 25 licensed Child Care Centers for hundreds of children in addition to Before And After Programs.
LEF operates a kitchen service that caters to all of the organizations events. This includes local community, staff, and program events.
In addition to the all the services that LEF provides, it also has two groups that are age range specific. The Youth program is designed for people ages 18 to 30 years old. The Senior program is designed for anyone that is retired. Both groups have their own calendar events.
The Mount Dennis Quilt is an affordable housing project that LEF is leading with the local community and City of Toronto. The Quilt envisions a multi-use building, offering a vibrant streetscape with both the ground level and the first few floors as community space. Above that, the project will create affordable residences and access to much needed supports with the help of community partners.
There are opportunities to offer your time to help with events in the local Mount Dennis Community at LEF.
Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained self-educating activities in order to gain new forms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. It can mean any form of learning adults engage in beyond traditional schooling, encompassing basic literacy to personal fulfillment as a lifelong learner, and to ensure the fulfillment of an individual.
Childcare, also known as day care, is the care and supervision of one or more children, typically ranging from two weeks to 18 years old. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(ren), childcare typically refers to the care provided by caregivers who are not the child's parents. Childcare is a broad topic that covers a wide spectrum of professionals, institutions, contexts, activities, and social and cultural conventions. Early childcare is an important and often overlooked component of child development.
The Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) is a human services organization committed to the development of the Arab American community. ACCESS helps low-income families, as well as newly arrived immigrants adapt to life in the United States. Its goal is to foster a greater understanding of Arab culture in the U.S. and in the Arab world. ACCESS provides social, mental health, educational, artistic, employment, legal, and medical services.
Soft skills, also known as power skills, common skills, essential skills, or core skills, are psychosocial skills generally applicable to all professions. These include critical thinking, problem solving, public speaking, professional writing, teamwork, digital literacy, leadership, professional attitude, work ethic, career management and intercultural fluency. This is in contrast to hard skills, which are specific to individual professions.
A group home, congregate living facility, care home, adult family home, etc., is a structured and supervised residence model that provides assisted living and medical care for those with complex health needs. Traditionally, the model has been used for children or young people who cannot live with their families or afford their own homes, people with chronic disabilities who may be adults or seniors, or people with dementia and related aged illnesses. Typically, there are no more than six residents, and there is at least one trained caregiver there 24 hours a day. In some early "model programs", a house manager, night manager, weekend activity coordinator, and four part-time skill teachers were reported. Originally, the term group home referred to homes of 8 to 16 individuals, which was a state-mandated size during deinstitutionalization. Residential nursing facilities, also included in this article, may be as large as 100 individuals in 2015, which is no longer the case in fields such as intellectual and developmental disabilities. Depending on the severity of the condition requiring one to need to live in a group home, some clients are able to attend day programs and most clients are able to live normal lifestyles.
Upwardly Global is a 501(c)(3) national non-profit organization with offices in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. that helps immigrant, refugee and asylee professionals rebuild their careers in the United States.
The Polish American Association (PAA) is a non-profit human services agency that serves the diverse needs of the Chicago immigrant community.
The Hanen Centre is a not-for-profit registered charitable organization, based in Toronto, Canada. It defines its mission as, “providing the important people in a child’s life with the knowledge and training they need to help the child develop the best possible language, social and literacy skills”.
A business–education partnership is an agreement of collaboration between schools and businesses, unions, governments or community organizations. These partnerships are established by agreement between two or more parties to establish goals, and to construct a plan of action for achievement of those goals.
NorQuest College is a publicly funded, post-secondary institution in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The student body is approximately 12,435 full-time or part-time credit students, and approximately 7,876 non-credit or continuing education students. Approximately 1,879 students graduate each year.
Somali Canadians are Canadians of Somali origin or are dual Somali and Canadian nationality.
Supported employment refers to service provisions wherein people with disabilities, including intellectual disabilities, mental health, and traumatic brain injury, among others, are assisted with obtaining and maintaining employment. Supported employment is considered to be one form of employment in which wages are expected, together with benefits from an employer in a competitive workplace, though some versions refer to disability agency paid employment. Companies such as Skilcraft in the United States are an example of "supported employment" which is defined in law for state and federal reimbursements.
Family resource programs (FRP) are Canadian community-based organizations that intend to support families in a variety of ways through systems such as family resource centers, family places, family centers, and neighborhood houses. They can also be linked to schools, community centers, child care programs, women's centers, and native friendship centers. This includes programs such as Ontario Early Years and military-funded family centers. They are generally grassroots organizations that aim to be responsive to local issues.
The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with locations in the United States, Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, and Kenya, and a national network of nearly 200 partner agencies that provide support for those experiencing forced and voluntary displacement.
The Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada program is a free language education programme—funded and regulated by the Canadian government's Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship—that offers full-time and part-time English- and French-language lessons to adult permanent residents and Convention refugees.
The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) is the administrative department of the Ohio state government responsible for supervising the state's public assistance, workforce development, unemployment compensation, child and adult protective services, adoption, child care, and child support programs. Prior to July 2013, ODJFS was also the state agency responsible for the administration of Ohio's Medicaid program. In July 2013, a new state agency was created, the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM), Ohio’s first Executive-level Medicaid agency. ODJFS employs about 2,300 full time employees and has an annual budget of $3.3 billion.
Friends-International (FI) is an international social enterprise and registered non-governmental organization focusing on children's empowerment established in Cambodia in 1994. Its mission is "to build a future where all children are safe from all forms of abuse, are able to become productive citizens of their countries and contribute to a more equitable and sustainable world." FI works in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Thailand and with almost 50 partners around the world, providing social services to marginalized urban young people and their families.
Founded in 1965, the Chinese-American Planning Council, Inc. (CPC) is one of the largest non-profit providers of educational, social, and community services for Asian-Americans in the United States. It now services over 8,000 people daily through some 50+ programs at over 30 locations citywide. It administers early childhood, school-age child care, youth, community, workforce development, and senior services. Its mission is to serve the Chinese-American, immigrant, and low-income communities in New York City by providing services, skills, and resources towards economic self-sufficiency.
The Partnership for Refugees is a refugee public-private partnership established in June 2016 as the Partnership for Refugees by the Obama administration to facilitate President Barack Obama's commitment to creative solutions for the refugee crisis by engaging the private sector. The Partnership, an initiative established through collaboration between the State Department and USA for UNHCR with significant support from Accenture Federal Services, was established to facilitate private sector commitments in response to President Obama's June 30, 2016 Call to Action for Private Sector Engagement on the Global Refugee Crisis. On September 20, 2016, at the Leaders Summit on Refugees at the United Nations, President Obama announced that 51 companies from across the American economy have pledged to make new, measurable and significant commitments that will have a durable impact on refugees residing in countries on the front lines of the global refugee crisis and in countries of resettlement, like the United States.
Covenant House Toronto is a nonprofit organization that serves at-risk, homeless and trafficked youth between the ages of 16 and 24. It is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and is one of many Covenant House locations based in North America. The Toronto location is the largest agency of its kind in Canada, with 80 per cent of their annual funding coming from donors. The house serves as many as 300 youth a day regardless of their race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or the circumstances that have brought them to their doors. Covenant House also offers services such as education, after-care, counseling, health care, employment assistance, and job training. The organization has also offered their services to more than 95,000 young people since its start in 1982.