In 2021, at the five-year mark of ABACUS, Hamilton Community Foundation conducted a comprehensive review that provided insights for refinements to help ABACUS best meet community needs. In particular, the evidence showed the need for an increased focus on the transition to high school, reading acquisition and numeracy before the middle-school years, the importance of children’s overall social and emotional wellness to their academic achievement, and the critical importance of addressing the needs of students historically underserved in the education system.

Based on this evidence, the Foundation launched ABACUS Phase II in spring 2022, which further focuses our grants and systems change work. Phase II includes two granting streams:

ABACUS Liftoff! which supports students transitioning into middle school (Grades 4 and 5) with a particular focus on addressing learning interruptions arising from the pandemic.

ABACUS+ which supports the transition out of the middle-school years and into high school, including Grade 9 and the transition into and through Grade 10.

In summer 2024, grants totaling $1,299,595 were distributed from these two streams

ABACUS Liftoff!

NameProgramAmount
Elliott Heights Baptist ChurchExpands the Larch After-school Program to Grades 4 and 5.$20,800
Hamilton East Kiwanis Boys' and Girls' Club (o/a BGC Hamilton-Halton)Power UP! is a literacy-focused program that helps to develop a lifelong love for reading, writing and creativity.$25,000
Learning Disabilities Association of Halton (o/a Centre for Diverse Learners)Mastering Mathematics is a program designed to help children with learning disabilities fill essential numeracy skill gaps, gain confidence and shift their mindset towards mathematics so that they can achieve academic success.$24,202
MathstronautsImproving Numeracy Skills is an eight-week extracurricular program designed to help improve numeracy through hands-on activities.$26,000
Niwasa Kendaaswin TegThe Gizhaanaawaat project will support Indigenous students to improve literacy and numeracy skills through a holistic culturally safe approach to learning via Indigenous pedagogy.$26,000

ABACUS+

NameProgramAmount
Art Gallery of Hamilton AGH: In-Class works with the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board to improve learning engagement, academic achievement, and pro-social skills development among children and youth through arts-based activities targeted to their diverse needs. $50,000
Art Gallery of Hamilton AGH: In-Class works with the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board to improve learning engagement, academic achievement, and pro-social skills development among children and youth through arts-based activities targeted to their diverse needs.$30,000
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hamilton & Burlington Adventure Canada Connections (ACC) is a group mentoring program for newcomer youth. The program offers a role model, mentor and a friend, helping with their adjustment to Canada including academic support focused on literacy and language.$30,000
Compass Community Health The PATH Program supports youth in north and central Hamilton to gain the knowledge and experiences they need to successfully transition from elementary to secondary school so they can thrive in high school and pursue a pathway towards post-secondary education.$67,600
Elliott Heights Baptist Church Larch After-school Program encourages and enhances the healthy development of children academically by providing customized support, and socially by helping children deal with everyday life issues.$21,932
Empowerment Squared The Academic Mentoring Program provides middle-school students, particularly newcomer and marginalized youth, with mentoring and tutoring to support academic success and access to post-secondary education.$57,200
Eva Rothwell Centre Stimulate the Brain! is a free tutoring program for children in Grades 6, 7, and 8 at the Eva Rothwell Centre that focuses on literacy, numeracy, and STEM and aims to alleviate some of the learning loss experienced as a result of educational disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic.$15,000
Hamilton East Kiwanis Boys' and Girls' Club (o/a BGC Hamilton-Halton) The Grad Club engages students toward academic success and overall wellness during the transition to and through high school. It uses a strength-based approach that values young people, families, and community to equip youth with skills, resources, and confidence.$50,622
Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board The LEAD Successful Transitions & Mentoring Project will engage students in a series of positive health promotion activities, workshops and events, complemented by academic extensions and tutoring. The program encourages successful living and learning skills development by establishing mentoring connections and a culminating transition event.$57,200
Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board The Hamilton YouPoets Artist Residency Program is a collaboration between HWCDSB teachers and “HYP” artist educators, to help students prepare for each school’s participation in HYP’s annual spoken word festival.$52,000
Industry Education Council of Hamilton The Career Development Animation Program will provide experiential learning opportunities for youth living in high-priority neighborhoods.$62,400
The John Howard Society Achieving Community and Hope in Every Student (ACHIEVES) serves students in Grades 6 to 10 who experience barriers to academic success. It provides cognitive/social/emotional skills development, recreation, and post-secondary and career exploration.$52,000
Mathstronauts STEAM Engine is a weekly co-curricular program for middle-school students from under-represented groups to develop and enhance digital literacy through hands-on STEM projects.$67,600
Mission Services of Hamilton The 196 is a youth-driven after-school program providing educational and wellness supports in a fun, fit, and healthy way to middle-school students in the Gibson-Landsdale neighborhood.$45,000
Munar Learning Centre Stepping Stones to Academic and Social Success supports Somali refugee youth by addressing academic gaps with tutoring and mentoring to allow smooth transitions from middle school to high school.$52,000
Neighbour to Neighbour Centre (Hamilton) The Math Success Program helps students in Grades 5 to 8 improve math skills through twice-weekly small group instruction from qualified educators and volunteers. There are mentorship opportunities from STEM and business sector community members and from senior-level high school student volunteers to support the participants’ transition to high school. $35,000
Niwasa Kendaaswin Teg NYA:WEH engages and supports First Nation, Métis and Inuit middle-school students and their families in the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board with holistic programming within an inclusive Indigenous educational framework, helping them to transition to secondary school and explore pathways to post-secondary education.$67,579
Niwasa Kendaaswin Teg NYA:WEH  engages and supports First Nation, Métis and Inuit middle-school students and their families in the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board, with holistic programming within an inclusive Indigenous educational framework, helping them to transition to secondary school and explore pathways to post-secondary education.$135,200
Rafiki Hamilton EDUC_ACTION is a program for Georges P. Vanier students that provides tailored academic tutoring, mental health, and well-being supports for francophone students in Grades 7 and 8, with mentorship from Grade 11 and 12 students and professional tutors.$42,895
Wesley Urban Ministries Wesley’s Step Up program is for high-priority youth transitioning to high school. Step Up staff will work on goal setting, take students to local post-secondary education institutions and offer homework support, as well as positive peer social and recreation opportunities.$42,000
Rotary Club of Hamilton Sunshine Fund The CORE Kids Leaders in Action Program is a series of after-school activities where middle-school students have opportunities to gain new skills and experiences to grow in mind and body.$26,000
YMCA of Hamilton/Burlington/Brantford The “Be Wise” program targets youth aged 12 to 17 at risk of gang involvement. This program will provide long-term support following Alternative Suspension through one-to-one case management as teens continue to work through academic, social and peer-related challenges to improve their decision making. $61,000
YWCA Hamilton The YWeLEAP Program combines successful approaches to engaging underserved/at-risk middle-school and early-high-school students identifying as girls or nonbinary/genderfluid people. Peer check-ins, workshops and a drop-in space help to increase belonging, life skills and academic success.$57,365