About YU’s Abbotsford Programs
Abbotsford, the largest municipality in the Fraser Valley, is home to 46 schools and has the third highest proportion of visible minorities in Canada. Youth Unlimited has been running programs and loving youth in this community since 1947.
Youth Unlimited is connected with over 500 youth across Abbotsford. Our youth workers volunteer in six schools in the Rick Hansen, WJ Mouat, and Abbotsford secondary schools’ catchment areas. The team’s office on Emerson Street (across from House of James near West Oaks Mall) serves as a hub for our Abby team who do most of their work out in the neighbourhoods where they can help youth and their families in their local contexts.
Our opportunities for youth:
Partnerships with schools, community agencies, and churches
Culturally diverse programming
Support for families
Sports activities and wilderness adventures
Mentoring in one-to-one and small group settings
Cross Cultural Outreach:
The South Asian community represents 22% of Abbotsford’s population, with most of this community speaking Punjabi as their first language. Many are new to Canada and often experience immigration hardships and the challenges of living in a foreign country.
We come alongside youth and families in the South Asian community through helping in the schools they attend, visiting with them at their homes, mentoring, and arranging daytrips that expose them to experiences they might not have otherwise had in their country of origin. Guided by the values of God’s love, we are grateful for the many opportunities to build positive relationships with this community.
SCHOOL OUTREACH
Because of the priority we place on coming alongside youth in their worlds, we volunteer in schools in whatever capacity the principals and teachers find most helpful. This includes the academic classroom settings, noon hour supervision, sports team coaching, running the school store, handing out hot chocolate in the parking lot, noon hours sports, visiting with youth in the Indigenous Department, and even sitting with students in the hallways to talk with them about the anxieties they are currently experiencing with their friends, family, and academics.
FIRETRUCK MOBILE DROP-IN
Creating innovative ways to love on youth is one of our guiding principles in youth ministry. Our mobile drop-in center model has allowed Youth Unlimited to meet youth where they are at. In Abbotsford and Chilliwack, this mobility allows us to reach more communities across the cities, creating connection points with hundreds of youth. Nearing the end of the renovation phase, firetruck mobile drop-in center be road ready later this year. We are incredibly grateful to our friends, family, and partners who have supported this initiative.
I’m Created to Connect (ICTC)
Our ICTC ministry focuses on schools, youth and the community of West Abbotsford, which is predominantly South Asian. ICTC creates connection through school involvement, clubs, coaching, evening events and day trips. This is accompanied with door visits, mentoring times and small group connections.
Connect with the Abbotsford team:
Area Director: Dave Wiebe Office Administrator: Jacquie Dahl Office Phone: 604-852-2725 Email: abbotsford@youthunlimited.com Address: 1A-2760 Emerson St., Abbotsford, BC V2T 3J6
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