Vision, Mission, Beliefs and Values, Purpose

Vision:

Sustaining a strong community by sharing responsibility for the well-being of children, youth and families

Mission:

Promoting and enabling planning and action by using strength-based approaches that ensure the well-being of children, youth and families in Waterloo Region

Beliefs and Values:

As an alliance of organizations and individuals acting together to promote the well-being of children, youth and their families, we believe in:

• greater accomplishment through inter-dependence, shared responsibility and collaboration
• commitment to action and the discovery of creative solutions
• a spirit of trust, open communication and genuine co-operation
• understanding and respecting all members as equals
• critical self-examination, shared learning, experimentation
• assets over deficits, strengths over weaknesses

Purpose:

• To foster the most comprehensive, coordinated and effective responses to children, youth and their families
• To promote strong cross-sectoral collaboration at all levels (e.g. leaders, front-line service providers, service users, governments) in pro-actively identifying issues and generating a collective response to challenges which impact the health and well-being of children, youth and their families
• To mobilize the capacity of its members and the sectors which they may represent
• To develop coordinated strategies for advising and advocating with governments at all levels for supportive policies and resources. This could include providing a collective ‘voice’ to speak to issues of financial resources - the specific needs, distribution and use of those resources in the community
• To ensure effective and efficient implementation of new initiatives and policy directions at a local level through collaboration between the service community, service users, and governments
• To share information and to build strong networks among members
• To proactively explore with community groups the promotion and achievement of collective goals
• To build community awareness of issues of child wellness and to advocate for the best interests of children, youth and families
• To build links with other umbrella organizations for children
• To connect with knowledge and research. Where it would enhance the function of the Alliance, there may be the creation of or consultation with focus groups or the general public to seek further input or advice. Information gained in such a process could be used in a variety of ways including shaping public attitude and influencing the financial decisions of governments/funders