History

MORE THAN 40 YEARS OF CYL MAGIC
Just as the Ontario co-op sector has grown and changed, so has the Co-operative Young Leaders program.  CYL was started in 1967 by GROWMARK, Inc., (then known as United Co-operatives of Ontario).  It began as an annual Youth Camp for boys, and was designed to meet the needs of agricultural communities in Ontario.

Over time,  Gay Lea Foods Co-operative and local credit unions became involved.  The camp experience evolved into the Co-op Young Leaders Program, offering leadership development training to boys and girls from the agricultural and credit union sectors.

(To see more photos from the past 40 Years of CYL and UCO Youth Camp, click here.)

In 1991, the Canadian Co-operative Association began its involvement with the program.  By 1992, CYL was a project of CCA Ontario, now known as the Ontario Co-operative Association.  The co-op system’s influence meant a broader vision for the program.  CYL became a leadership and self-awareness program designed to meet the development needs of young people across Ontario’s entire co-op sector.

With the help of a generous donation from the Credit Union Charitable Foundation in 1992, CYL expanded to offer separate sessions for Junior, Intermediate and Senior participants.  Advanced Sessions were created for returning and older participants.  Facilitators were recruited from within the diverse Ontario co-op sectors.  A Facilitator-training component was added, which provided an additional training experience for past participants.

During its 40th anniversary year in 2007, CYL offered 180 Ontario youth seven outstanding sessions of camp. Since its inception as the Youth Camp in 1967, the Co-operative Young Leaders Program has offered training and development opportunities to over 2500 young people.

Thanks to the ongoing support and sponsorships of Ontario’s co-operative sector, the Co-operative Young Leaders Program continues to offer unique and inspiring leadership training to co op youth through its continually-updated curriculum and ever-expanding program.