Survey Alert!

We need your help to understand the natural supports work going on in Alberta. Please check out this short survey to learn about the natural supports work happening at an individual, group, and community level in different areas of the province, but also to better understand what types of resources/connections folks doing this work might be interested in. This survey should take about 10 minutes to complete. Click here for the survey.

Have natural support work you want to share through this hub? We’d love to hear from you!

Have natural supports work you want to share through this hub? We’d love to hear from you!

Please email Larasha Farrington at larasha.farrington@burnsfund.com with:

The title of your work

  1. The website text copy, as you would like it posted

  2. Any attached images, documents, or videos that complement your work

  3. The location on the website where it should be posted (i.e. Training, Training Resources tab)

  4. Contact information or source information

All submissions will be reviewed for alignment with the intent of the Connections First hub prior to being added to the website and may be edited for length.

Connections First: New Directions

Hello! As you may know, Burns Memorial Fund has assumed the management of the Connections First website. We envision Connections First as an ongoing central hub for all major natural supports work in Alberta.

Our aim is to create an online space where individuals and organizations can learn more about natural supports, access resources and guides for promoting natural supports in their community/organizations, and amplify the importance of this work through their own connections and networks.

By sharing this collection of common sources, information and resources, we hope Connections First both unifies and strengthens the natural supports work in the province and beyond.

Have any natural supports resources or projects you’d like to share? Please contact Kendall Quantz at kendall.quantz@burnsfund.com.

Currently on this page you will find informative blog posts about natural supports, mentorship, out of school time, and more from the Max Bell Foundation/Burns Memorial Fund policy fellowship. Stay tuned for natural supports project updates, resources, and opportunities!

Out of school time: What should it look like?

Here’s a great resource to help parents and caregivers consider the important characteristics of out of school time. The report includes key things to consider, recommendations on the types of programs to implement, and importantly, key programmatic considerations like evaluation, frequency and intensity.

Click on the images below to download a copy of the full report or the executive summary with recommendations.

Full report

Full report

Some great resources to share

Like everyone else, we’ve hunkered down a bit over the past 6 months or so staying safe and protecting our loved ones as best we can. And yet, even with the global pandemic going on around us, some great work and achievements have been happening concurrently.

We’d like to share some of that work with you to include in your library of resources.

The first is the Raising Canada 2020 publication “Top 10 Threats to Childhood in Canada and the Impact of COVID-19. “ Clearly a timely resource for us all to look at, and a good example of researchers and policy makers from across Canada coming together to pool their knowledge and resources to produce an excellent knowledge mobilization tool.

You can find more information and download the publication here: https://childrenfirstcanada.org/raising-canada

The other resources we are sharing come from UNICEF and are directed at understanding what shapes the understanding of the lives of children in developing countries. One of the resources, “Worlds of Influence: Understanding What Shapes Child Well-Being in Rich Countries” takes a global view, whereas the second resource, “Worlds Apart: Canadian Companion to UNICEF Report card 16” looks at the Canadian context in more detail. Downloads of these reports can be found below.

Worlds Apart: Canadian Companion to UNICEF Report card 16

Worlds of Influence: Understanding What Shapes Child Well-Being in Rich Countries