For Officers
** News Flash ** Are you running a skating program for your kids?
If any of the kids in your hockey or skating program need new or gently used skates, helmets or other hockey equipment, we suggest you check out the Skate to Great website.
Skate to To Great is a not-for-profit organization that pairs up new and used donated figure skates and hockey equipment with deserving children and at-risk youth. Email them at breaktheice@skatetogreat.org.
Forms Packages
ProAction Cops & Kids is a charity that provides funding for police-youth programs in Toronto, Hamilton and Durham Region. Police officers looking for more information and application forms, please click the appropriate link:
Toronto Forms
Durham Forms
Hamilton Forms
How to Apply
ProAction Cops & Kids encourages and supports police officers engaging youth in their community by developing programs directed to address their specific needs.
Officers are encouraged to share their passions with youth, whether it is basketball, painting, drumming or car restoration. Exposing youth to new activities enriches their experience and your enthusiasm will be contagious.
Officers who are interested in applying for a grant are encouraged to review ProAction’s criteria and reporting requirements. Please feel free to contact us with questions or visit our Best Practices page.
When you are satisfied that your program meets criteria, please submit an application form. The application should have as much detail as possible – feel free to add attachments if you like. The more information on your program we have, the faster our Grants Committee can come to a decision.
Grant requests are forwarded by the submitting officer to ProAction’s Police Liaison in your police service. Once our Police Liaison ensures that the program meets ProAction criteria, the application is forwarded to ProAction for consideration. Although the ProAction Grants Committee can generally review and decide on grant requests within 3 weeks, application must be submitted at least one month before the money is needed.
After you have been notified of the Grants Committee’s decision, you will be notified by writing of the decision and a cheque will be made available.
Program Criteria
ProAction staff and volunteer members of the Grants Committee review each application to ensure the program meets our mission. Your application will be reviewed first by our Police Liaison for your police services prior to being reviewed by ProAction.
ProAction supports programs for police officers interacting with:
- Youth at risk due to:
- Young people who are at risk by virtue of individual risk and need factors (e.g. behavioural issues, substance abuse), family situation (e.g. unemployment, parental absence or incapacity) or community aspects (e.g. high priority neighborhood) that may lead to crime and violence
- Youth involved or at risk for involvement with guns, gangs, drugs
- Youth who have been criminally charged
- Youth who have witnessed or experienced violence
ProAction recognizes that in today’s world each and every youth is at risk. In general all youth in your Division are eligible to participate in a ProAction-funded program however please keep in mind, that often the youth who benefit from our programs the most are ones who fit into the above definition of “at-risk youth.” ProAction-funded programs must demonstrate to youth that there are positive options and opportunities available to them if they desire them and influence youth who are at risk, in the long or short term, from taking the wrong path.
Programs must involve a high ratio of police officers to youth. Police officers act as program managers, role models, friendly advisors, esteem builders and approachable, trustworthy adults.
Priority will be given to:
- Programs with high ratios of police to youth, resulting in frequent opportunities for one-on-one interaction and/or mentoring
- Programs which provide ongoing, significant contact between youth and officers who regularly attend, rather than a one-day event with limited opportunities for meaningful interaction
- Programs in areas reporting high incidence of youth crime, i.e. Toronto’s 13 priority neighbourhoods
What are the benefits of running a ProAction-funded program?
- Youth build relationships with police as friends and community partners
- Improved relations between police and the community as a whole
- Lines of communication are opened between police and youth and the “code of silence” is broken down
- Kids develop leadership skills and see new options
- Kids have a safe place to go afterschool, on the weekends or during the summer