Healthy Communities • YMCA Employment Programs • YMCA Youth Programs
More than a summer job: The Summer Work Student Exchange
30 June 2016 - by June Findlay
Ask most young people what their plans are for the summer now that school's done for another year, and you'll hear the usual answers: find a summer job, hang out with friends, enjoy the lazy days that lie ahead--until it's time to head back to class, that is.
For about 750 teens across Canada, this summer will be a little different.
Every year, the YMCA of Greater Toronto's Summer Work Student Exchange, funded by Canadian Heritage, sees hundreds of 16 and 17-year old-students in various communities travel the country to live, work a paid job (often their first), and learn their second official language (English or French) in a different part of Canada for six weeks. For the majority of students in Toronto, they will travel to over 20 communities in Quebec, working as day camp counselors, food bank workers, park attendants and many more jobs that help them not only earn pocket money, but to learn what Canada is like through the eyes of young Canadians just like them.
Getting there is only half the journey; the majority of students travel to their destination by train (provided by VIA Rail Canada), with many traveling through Union Station on the so-called #SWSETravelDay, when a sea of blue and red YMCA-branded t-shirts (students and staff) seem to swarm the station while taking selfies, taking in the sights around the station (many students travel through Toronto for the first time in their lives), and saying hello and goodbye to their friends and families for 6 weeks.
The key to success of the program, however, are the many, many host families who host students in their homes and provide not only a place to stay during the summer, but a place in the community and an opportunity for learning and growth in ways that will continue to make an impact, long after the summer ends. Though the majority of host families who participate have also sent their teens on exchange, a number of families also act as alternate hosts (those who host a student, but do not send one on exchange).
For about 750 teens across Canada, this summer will be a little different.
Every year, the YMCA of Greater Toronto's Summer Work Student Exchange, funded by Canadian Heritage, sees hundreds of 16 and 17-year old-students in various communities travel the country to live, work a paid job (often their first), and learn their second official language (English or French) in a different part of Canada for six weeks. For the majority of students in Toronto, they will travel to over 20 communities in Quebec, working as day camp counselors, food bank workers, park attendants and many more jobs that help them not only earn pocket money, but to learn what Canada is like through the eyes of young Canadians just like them.
Getting there is only half the journey; the majority of students travel to their destination by train (provided by VIA Rail Canada), with many traveling through Union Station on the so-called #SWSETravelDay, when a sea of blue and red YMCA-branded t-shirts (students and staff) seem to swarm the station while taking selfies, taking in the sights around the station (many students travel through Toronto for the first time in their lives), and saying hello and goodbye to their friends and families for 6 weeks.
The key to success of the program, however, are the many, many host families who host students in their homes and provide not only a place to stay during the summer, but a place in the community and an opportunity for learning and growth in ways that will continue to make an impact, long after the summer ends. Though the majority of host families who participate have also sent their teens on exchange, a number of families also act as alternate hosts (those who host a student, but do not send one on exchange).
For more information about the Summer Work Student Exchange, including how to apply for next year's program, click here.
Follow the journeys of SWSE students across Canada starting July 2nd--#SWSETravelDay--by clicking here and here.
