PFC in the Classroom
SCHOOL ENGAGEMENT RESOURCE PACKAGE
PRINT OUT PROMISE CARDS (SINGLE)
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Joe Roberts, former homeless youth, began pushing a shopping cart across Canada to raise awareness and dollars to support the prevention of youth homelessness. This national trek started May 1, 2016 from St. John’s Newfoundland and ended September 29, 2017 in Vancouver, British Columbia: a 9,064km, 17-month journey. The shopping cart is a symbol of Joe’s transformation from youth homelessness. It represents the very outcome we are trying to avoid for future generations of young people.
The Push for Change team inspired students, families, police officers, government officials and front line workers to work towards ending youth homelessness in their communities. Along the way, The Push for Change team met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, spoke at We Day: Family, raised $570,000 and hosted over 450 school and community events.
The Push for Change legacy continues today through inspiration, education and youth empowerment. By working closely with educators, police and local agencies we continue to work towards ending youth homelessness through the #ipromiseto campaign.
How to Participate
Confirm your presentation date and time with Campaign Director, Marie Roberts
Educate
The Push for Change youth presentation is designed to educate students on what youth homelessness is and is not, how over 40,000 young Canadians experience street life each year, and what each student can do to avoid poor choices that lead to vulnerability and despair. Joe will share his story as a former homeless youth who came from an average home.
Walk with Joe through the tough streets of East Vancouver in the 1980s and experience the depths and degradation of a former hopeless, homeless drug addict. Joe’s success as a school presenter is due to his honest and authentic message that educators are looking for and students relate to.
Inspire
Joe teaches us to see the power we all have within us to make a change in the world we live in. From a promise made on the streets 25 years ago, Joe was inspired to do something to “pay it forward”, to help other young people avoid this fate. The Push for Change is that promised realized, proving that we can make change if we have the courage to take action. Students will be inspired to look within and see their own possibilities.
Click to download School Presentation PDF
Empower
The Push for Change offers strong opportunities for youth empowerment. Before, during, and after the presentation, students and teachers will be invited to get involved in The Push for Change through the #ipromiseto platform. Encouraging each and every student to volunteer, raise awareness, fundraise and share those commitments through social media in a fun and experiential way to practice social justice.