AIR MILES® Reward Program Names 2021 Recipients of Youth Empowerment Grant

The AIR MILES Reward Program is proud to announce the ten organizations named as the 2021 recipients of the company’s Youth Empowerment Grant. The grant program serves as a core pillar of AIR MILES’ social impact strategy and is part of a broader commitment from AIR MILES that enables our partners, collectors and associates to create lasting social and environmental change in Canadian communities.

This year, the AIR MILES Youth Empowerment Grant committee’s focus was at-risk youth, with special attention given to BIPOC-led and focused organizations. AIR MILES is pleased to provide grants to a diverse set of charities throughout Canada that are making a difference across four areas of youth empowerment: basic needs, education, employment and developing leaders.

“AIR MILES is proud to award the Youth Empowerment Grant to ten Canadian organizations that are each playing an instrumental role in developing the communities they represent. As a company, we are committed to empowering our collectors to make a difference and are thrilled to partner with organizations committed to driving long-term social and environmental change,” said Blair Cameron, President, AIR MILES Reward Program.

The full list of 2021 Grant recipients includes:

• Bridges Social Development – Calgary, AB
  • Funding for A Youth Explosion, an annual creative storytelling event where Indigenous youth share their leadership, wisdom and passion with a diverse public audience through a wide variety of media including spoken word, art, dance and film.

• Business in the Streets – GTA, ON
  • Funding for Youth Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities (YCEO) & Boot Camp: core training and mentorship programs that provide young people with the knowledge, skills, mentorship, networks and resources required to make entrepreneurship a viable option.

• Frontlines – York, ON
  • Funding for their On the Frontlines of Education program, a homework assistance program for students aged 6 to 18 years old.


• Habitat for Humanity – Regina, SK
  • Funding to address the critical need for affordable housing, Habitat for Humanity Saskatchewan is building a 62-townhouse community in Regina called Haultain Crossing, the largest Habitat development in Saskatchewan’s 30-year history and the second largest in Canada.

• Horizons for Youth – GTA, ON
  • Funding for their Life Skills Program, which is a combination of workshops, group work and lessons designed to give residents the tools they need to find employment, transition to independent living and excel in their lives.

• JA Central Ontario – GTA, ON
  • Funding for ten Personal Finance Program sessions, which teach grade 9 to 12 students key money management skills including spending wisely, budgeting, saving and using credit.

• Outward Bound Canada – Toronto, ON and Vancouver, BC
  • Funding for costs associated with program delivery for programming for young people in nature that cultivates resilience, social competence and environmental stewardship.


• Save the Children – Manitoba
  • Funding for the Ohero:kon Summer Student Program, created in partnership with the community, which guides youth through Mohawk practices and teachings in the modern context, strengthening their cultural knowledge, self-confidence and leadership.

• Second Harvest – GTA, ON
  • Funding for the Feeding Our Future Program, which aims to ensure children are not forgotten during the summer months and that families with children and youth have access to nutritious lunch foods.


• VIBE Arts – Toronto, ON
  • Funding for the NExT Black Youth Mentorship Program, which is a one-year program that engages 8 to 10 Black youth artists, building on the organization’s vision to build, connect and strengthen networks of Black artists throughout the GTA.

For more information on AIR MILES’ Youth Empowerment Grant program and Sustainability & Inclusion initiatives, please visit www.loyalty.com/home/who-we-are/sustainability-inclusion.