Welcome to WilderFutures
Today, August 12th, 2021, marks the annual International Youth Day, a day dedicated to celebrating the contributions that our youth make in tackling social justice issues and working towards sustainable development while also recognizing the challenges that today’s youth can face.
In honour of International Youth Day and our growing love for raising our future leaders and innovators, we felt it was fitting to announce a top-secret project that our Wee Wild Ones team has been working on over the past year!
Rooted in our vision - to make a difference in the lives of children and others by developing our future critical thinkers, problem solvers and leaders of tomorrow - what was once an idea is now officially our reality. Without further ado, we are thrilled to announce the official launch of WilderFutures, a charitable arm of Wee Wild Ones! Scroll on to read all the details on what WilderFutures is, how it came to be, what we do and upcoming initiatives!
What is WilderFutures?
WilderFutures is a Calgary-based non-profit organization, aimed at addressing intersecting social issues by empowering organizations, families, educators, and the next generation of leaders with the tools and resources they need to make meaningful change in our communities.
Why Was WilderFutures Created?
Inspired by our work in childcare, we sought out a way to extend our impact beyond our facility walls. At Wee Wild Ones, we support and uplift the children in our care, champion diversity and inclusivity, and actively work towards greater environmental stewardship. Through WilderFutures, we are bringing these values to our broader community of families, educators, organizers, and the next generation of changemakers in Southern Alberta.
What We Do
WilderFutures educates others by enabling families, educators and conscious citizens to discuss difficult issues together by producing educational content, and promoting thoughtful discussions, connections, and interactions through workshops and events.
We empower by funding innovative change-making ideas and organizations doing meaningful work while improving access to diverse and inclusive educational resources for educators and families in need.
Upcoming Initiatives
Monster March 2021
The Monster March was started by Wee Wild Ones in 2017 to raise money for the Children’s Cottage Society. Previously held at St. Patrick’s Island, the Monster March began as a way for us to support children in need while encouraging families to spend more time together exploring our beautiful city.
What started as a one-day event has now expanded to become a month-long, city-wide, fundraising festival! As the Monster March has grown, so has our team of organizers and volunteers. As of 2021, the Monster March is now hosted, organized, and managed by the WilderFutures team.
This year, the Children’s Cottage has embarked on an exciting new mission to build a new Child and Family Centre in the northwest Calgary community of Montgomery. The new centre will include a 20-bed crisis nursery, counselling services, a therapeutic child development program and other programs. This new child and family centre will help address emerging issues in small children before there are lifelong and life-altering impacts and will allow the Children’s Cottage to help an additional 8,850 children a year!
The WilderFutures team and Wee Wild Ones' community are thrilled to expand our outreach and support in this year’s Monster March and continue to partner with other organizations and individuals in our community who are ready to make a difference. To learn more about WilderFutures, our programs, workshops, events and more, visit our website at www.wilderfutures.com or book a call with our team at hello@wilderfutures.com. Don't forget to follow along on Instagram and Facebook! We look forward to connecting, creating and working towards building a wilder future for all.