Roots that anchor our work

Our Mission

The Ten Oaks Project engages and connects children and youth from 2SLGBTQ+ (two spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer) identities, families, and communities through programs and activities rooted in play.

Our Vision

The Ten Oaks Project is a leader in meeting the needs of children and youth from 2SLGBTQ+ identities, families, and communities. Our work is inspired by camp and grounded in social justice as we strive to create safer spaces and grow positive peer networks for all children and youth.

Core Values

Empowerment Through Play

What we do is fun – and, lots of it! Our work is grounded in asset-based philosophies that use play to effect personal change, enhance self-esteem, develop leadership and foster independence. We believe that by bringing children and youth together to play and engage in recreation, we can build their confidence, forge bonds and facilitate understanding.

Learning by Doing

We believe that the best way to understand how the world works, and how to change it, is to engage in it. To facilitate this we ensure our programs are rooted in experiential education, or hands-on learning, that inspires active engagement, piques curiosity, and creates spaces where questions can be asked, investigations conducted, successes celebrated and mistakes learned from.

Social Justice

We strive to make the world more fair, push to see society value all people more, and try to better understand and respect our environment. By critically reflecting upon the way in which human rights are manifested in the everyday lives of people, we are challenged to provide equitable opportunities and representation in a real and substantive way. Our commitment to economic accessibility and respect for the diverse voices in our communities flows from this goal.

Collaboration and Innovation

We do things a bit differently. Forging relationships that are strong and collaborative is at the heart of what we do. The communities we serve are engaged in every aspect of what we do. We strive to evolve by adapting and adding our flavour to existing best practices. What we do, we want to do well, and we recognize that the way to do that is to build on the strengths of our community.

People

Fundamentally, we are an organization that is built around people – their hopes, their abilities, and their uniqueness. We understand children and youth as persons in their own right and aim to provide experiences that develop, support and empower them. The organization, as its core, is motivated by the needs of children and youth from 2SLGBTQ+ identities, families, and communities. Moreover, we are an organization built on the strength of our community and we would not exist without the valuable contributions of our volunteers, staff, directorate, sponsors, donors and community partners.