The Tower Youth program started up in 2004 and we are happy to say 12 years later it is still going strong. This is a free outreach program that invites any child from the ages of 4-13 to spend 2 hours of recreational time doing crafts, games and of course a snack to round out the evening. We started off slowly with just 6 children the first night but now we have upwards of 100 kids including teenage volunteers (who need 40 hours of charitable work to qualify to graduate secondary school) mostly from Sir J. A. McDonald Collegiate who support our paid Leaders and give them the support they need when you have 30 4-7 year olds and 30 8-13 year olds running all over the church. We have been able to accomplish this only with the help of Wexford Heights who not only pay our Leaders salaries, but also purchase a variety of grocery, eat-in restaurants and coffee shops retail cards where we receive a percentage of the cards sold. We run during the school year and take a much needed summer break ready to come back in the fall. We run on Friday nights from 6:30 – 8:30 and use just about every inch of the church space. We do have a “rule” we use in all aspects of The Tower. It is called the Golden Rule – Do unto others as you would have them do unto you! We believe this is the basis for a safe, fun-filled arena for the children of our ever growing neighbourhood.
