The Brock Youth Centre is a nonprofit organization that offers innovative programs to improve social and economic well-being for youth. Unlike traditional youth centers, BYC focuses on engaging youth through entrepreneurship programs like business pitch competitions and hackathons. BYC also operates a social enterprise, Cool Cow Ice Cream Parlour, to provide work experience for youth. BYC aims to build youth capacity by providing opportunities to develop business ideas, run businesses, and gain work skills to succeed in the future.

1. BROCK YOUTH
CENTRE
Engaging Youth Through Entrepreneurship

2. BYC: Not a Typical Youth Centre
L A K E S I M C O E
L A K E O N T A R I O
L
A
K
E
S
C
U
G
O
G
TOWNSHIP
OF
BROCK
TOWNSHIP
OF
UXBRIDGE
TOWNSHIP
OF
SCUGOG
CITY
OF
PICKERING
TOWN
OF
AJAX
TOWN
OF
WHITBY
CITY
OF
OSHAWA
MUNICIPALITY
OF
CLARINGTON
LAND AREA
2,535 square kilometres (980 square miles)
Durham Region is the largest geographical jurisdiction in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA),
stretching from Lake Ontario in the south to Lake Simcoe in the north.

3. We travel to the youth or reach out
virtually
Transportation Opportunity
Technology Funding

4. We want our youth to succeed

5. Today
2014
2011
1998

6. Our Mission:
To offer innovative programs and services
to improve the social and economic well-being
of youth and to ignite their confidence to
embrace the future

7. Our
Programs:
Engaging Youth Though
Entrepreneurship

8. Business Idea
Pitch
Competitions
With a Dragon’s Den style panel of judges

9. Students pitch their business ideas

10. Build their resume or portfolio

11. Jasmine
Rutschmann
Soul on Fire

12. From participant to staff person to
board member…

13. Jeff Baker
Woodworks
Workshop located in
Sandford, ON.

14. Grace Brown: Tails Boutiques
Online & In-person Retail

15. 2019 Pitch Competition Winners

16. Youth Mental Health and Wellness

17. Virtual
Hackathon
Youth Mental Health and
Wellness

18. Our First Social Enterprise
Cool Cow Ice Cream Parlour

19. How do we engage youth?
■ Develop our vison and mission – a roadmap that will take us where we want to go
■ Establish partnerships with community organizations, especially with the schools
■ Listen to the youth to hear what they have to say
■ Reach the youth through the Social Media channels they use
– Snapchat and YouTube are the channels of choice for youth
– Facebook and Instagram reach parents

20. BYC
provides
opportunity
Develop a
business
idea
Run a
business
Use tech in a
work
environment
Skills to take
out into the
world

21. BYC:
Building Youth
Capacity
Provide opportunity and youth will do
incredible things.
That, in turn, supports the attraction and
retention of youth in rural Ontario.

22. BYC gratefully acknowledges…
■ The support of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs through a
RED grant, the South Lake Community Futures Development Corporation, and the
RBC Foundation. Their support enables BYC to offer programs that are of benefit to
rural youth.