Lift, Inspire, Fuel and Empower

Ladder 2 Rise aims to Lift, Inspire, Fuel, and Empower our youth so they may rise and soar to their highest potential.

The Ladder 2 Rise Program
Ladder 2 Rise Guardian Program
guardians
Ladder 2 Rise has been designed with your youth in mind, setting the ladder and empowering them to take steps towards the future!
Access Resources
Ladder 2 Rise Guardian Program
Community Partners
As a Community Partner, you play a critical role in the lives of our youth. Through your dedicated efforts and partnership with Ladder 2 Rise, our Youth can dream!
Become a Partner
Ladder 2 Rise Guardian Program
Corporate Partners
Corporate Partners remove the road blocks and invest in the youth of tomorrow. We will serve as the bridge, connecting you to communities of underserved youth!
Become a Partner
Ladder 2 Rise Guardian Program
Youth
Ladder 2 Rise has been designed with you, our youth in mind! Yes, that’s right, this is about you, about setting the ladder and empowering you to take steps towards the future.
Access Support
Ladder 2 Rise Guardian Program
Mentors
As a mentor, you can expect to see a seamless experience where you are matched with a youth who has
a curiosity in the field, industry or sector you may be in.
Become a Mentor
I truly believe in their potential and all that they will do in this world.
As a TELUS Executive Sponsor of Ladder 2 Rise, I’ve had the distinct pleasure of supporting the program since its inception. Ladder 2 Rise has done a remarkable job of bridging TELUS to underserved youth communities, which directly connects to our commitment to remove barriers and improve access so that the future is friendlier for them to succeed. The program also directly aligns to our continued focus on Diversity and Inclusion. And as a corporate partner, TELUS works with Ladder 2 Rise to recognize and create future talent opportunities by proactively investing in youth across all backgrounds now. Some of my most cherished memories came from their annual Take a Youth to Work Day. The integrated Executive Sharing Circle is my favourite part of the day – it makes space to hear from youth first-hand about how the program positively impacts them. More importantly, perhaps, is how they will use the information and tools they’ve gained as they identify and climb the ladder of their choice. I truly believe in their potential and all that they will do in this world. I am excited about the promise of a rich, diverse future workforce and about the remarkable things Ladder 2 Rise youth will achieve through our collective investment and partnership.
Suzanne Trusdale
Vice President, SMB Sales, Small Medium Business, Telus
I truly believe in their potential and all that they will do in this world.
..., Children’s Aid Society of Toronto has been a proud partner of Ladder 2 Rise and we have witnessed the meaningful impact its customized programming, specifically Take a Kid to Work Day, has had on participating youth in care.

As Ladder 2 Rise expands the offerings available to young people in care, we are able to better support their educational and career trajectories by bridging the gap in their access to mentorship, paid employment experience and exposure to modern workplaces.

We are excited by the growing list of corporations across industries who are joining Ladder 2 Rise to provide youth in care with workplace programming that ignites their curiosity, extends their network of support and paves their paths to future opportunities.”
Paul Rosebush
Child Welfare Partner
look forward to my other daughter attending next year!
The Ladder 2 Rise Take a Youth to Work day my daughter participated in exceeded my expectations. When my daughter reported back on the things she learned, it renewed my pride in the corporate partner (TELUS) as a company – their commitment to diversity and inclusion, community service, and sharing our skills and experience with the next generation. I look forward to my other daughter attending next year!
2020 Take A Youth To Work Day Participant
Ladder 2 Rise
1,000
Support to over
1000+ youth
200K
Over 200k subject
matter experts
10
10 Provinces and 2
Territories
Joining hands to lift our youth
“In my dreams, every youth wakes up excited to conquer a world of possibility irrespective of their beautifully interwoven identities. Ladder 2 Rise is about community, it is about each of us and the roles and responsibility we each have to create an inclusive, equitable and kind world so that our youth realize it is no longer a dream but their much deserved reality”.
Ruth Nyaamine
Many ways to inspire a youth
Corporate Partner Registration
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Program Impact Categories
LIFT & INSPIRE
Providing our youth with early guidance, exposure to industries and careers, and an opportunity to build up their network from the word “go”.
FUEL & NOURISH
Stewarding our youth through mentorship, on an ongoing basis or as required, to serve as a bridge into the workforce.
LIFT & INSPIRE
Creating access bridges for all youth including connections to internships, summer placements, and experiential learning.
Frequently Asked Questions

What Is Ladder 2 Rise?

Ladder 2 Rise is a connector – with primary goal of connecting Youth to Corporate Partners, Community Partners, and Guardians. At Ladder 2 Rise, we believe that we all play a critical role in our youths’ support wheel, and we will support as an anchor to Lift, Inspire, Fuel and Empower our youth, so that together, we can truly RISE as a community. With an emphasis on Diversity and Inclusion, the program centers on ensuring inclusion of all youth irrespective of their intersectional identifies, culture, race, gender or other. The Ladder 2 Rise Program is designed with three key programming elements to include Lift and Inspire through annual Take a Youth to work Day program, centered on youth exposure to the available careers and streams. Our aim is to ignite our youths’ curiosity and guide them towards the many possibilities that exist. Our second pillar is Fuel and Nourish, centered on providing ongoing mentorship to our youth, fuelling and nourishing them with information, resources, guidance and support, focused to youth in grades 10-12. Our last programming pillar is Empower and Soar – focused to providing the bridge for youth transitioning out of secondary school (high school). This pillar aims to provide entry points and access to summer, winter, co-op and or other placement alternatives for both paid and education based programming.

Who Can Participate In The Ladder 2 Rise Program?

At Ladder 2 Rise, our aim is to provide a seat at the table for every youth irrespective of their intersectional identity, ensuring that all youth have an elevated sense of belonging. The program is targeted to three stages in a youth’s progressive steps to include the following pillars:

Pillar 1 Lift & Inspire (Take a Youth to Work Day event) – Open to youth in Grade 9

Pillar 2 Fuel & Nourish (Mentorship) – Open to youth in Grades 10 – 12

Pillar 3 Empower & Soar (Access) -Open to youth exploring opportunities after secondary school (high school) – This can include access to winter, summer employment and or co-op opportunities.

Ladder 2 Rise Sounds Like A Great Program! How Do We Become A Partner?

Thank you for your interest in joining us as we take steps to hold up the ladder for our youth. Our Corporate and Community Partners are critical pieces to our youths’ support wheel. We appreciate your interest in the program and look forward to connecting with you. Please contact us at info@ladder2rise.com with a request for a consultation and a member of our Ladder 2 Rise team will be in touch to support next steps.

How Is The Ladder 2 Rise Program Different From The Many New  Opportunities Arising That Raises Awareness Of BIPOC Youth?

We applaud the various community efforts to create opportunities for our youth. At Ladder 2 Rise, our key differentiator is our focus to inclusion, centered on ensuring seats at the table for all youth irrespective of their intersectional identity. The program allows for progressive visibility to our youth throughout their formative adolescent years – with programming pillars from Grade 9 to transition from secondary school. Further, the program ensures tangible actions to create meaningful seats and points of entry for youth, thereby shifting from the traditional model of tools, resources to providing actual seats to support youth as they navigate. With focused audience within the child welfare and education streams, our aim is to cast the net as wide as possible, identifying the youth that need us the most, Lifting, Inspiring, Fuelling and Empowering them as they navigate through L.I.F.E.

What Systems And/ Or Processes Are In Place To Ensure That Privacy And Confidentiality Of Youth Information Is Protected?

Ladder 2 Rise recognizes the importance of privacy and confidentiality, with our primary focus to ensure the protection of youth during program participation. With this in mind, we’ve taken extensive steps to include integration of Privacy and Confidentiality guidelines for all participating corporate sponsors, mentors, volunteers and core team. All support personnel who may have occasion to come in contact with youth (event day or mentorship) must have completed a criminal background check and/ or vulnerable sector clearance for one-on-one mentorship of a youth. Risk and privacy guidelines including data collection, usage and dissemination has been reviewed by child welfare agency privacy officer to ensure compliance. Privacy guidelines are shared to all participating Community Partners to ensure sign off and their satisfaction. Added measures have been taken to ensure overall protection of all, to include integration of terms and conditions as well as confidentiality waivers, a condition of program participation.

Is The Ladder 2 Rise Program Offered In French?

Inclusion from a language perspective is important to the Ladder 2 Rise team. With that said, 2021 programming will be facilitated in English. We look forward to offering the program in French in the future.