
What Are They?
"The work of Prince’s Charities Canada (PCC) is focused on The Prince of Wales’s core interests which have been well-established in the UK for more than 30 years. These include improving the lives of disadvantaged youth, education, responsible business, improving the built environment, regeneration of heritage, environmental sustainability and support for the armed forces. PCC works with existing Canadian charities already connected to The Prince and facilitates new opportunities for charitable organizations in Canada and the U.K. to work together."
The charities that make up the PCC include nine loosely connected initiatives: The Prince’s School of Traditional Arts, Aboriginal Initiatives, Campaign for Wool, The Prince’s Operation Entrepreneur, The Prince’s Seeing is Believing, The Prince’s Foundation for Building Community Canada, The Prince of Wales Prize for Municipal Heritage Leadership, Learning through the Arts, & The Prince of Wales Award for Sustainable Forestry.
The Prince’s School of Traditional Arts
Educational programs at PSTA including:
-Traditional painting techniques
-Architectural crafts
-Ceramic ornament and surface design
-Traditional geometry
-Contextual studies
Recently His Royal Highness became the royal patron of Willowbank School for Traditional Arts as part of this initiative.
Aboriginal Initiatives
Initiatives undertaken:
-Developing a partnership between First Nations University (FNU) in Regina and the Prince’s School for the Traditional Arts (PSTA) in the United Kingdom.
-Supporting an Aboriginal employment initiative developed by CEO participants of the Prince’s Seeing is Believing.
-Developing an initiative to provide children’s books written in First Nations languages to support literacy efforts.
As you may notice there is some overlap between these initiatives and ones under different headings. This speaks both to the unique place of the First Nations in Canada as well as the unique challenges hey face.
Campaign for Wool
This initiative has already helped increased demand for wool and led to a threefold increase in the price farmers receive for their wool.
The Prince’s Operation Entrepreneur
The Prince’s Operation Entrepreneur helps soldiers transitioning from the Canadian Forces with the education, financing and mentoring needed to launch and sustain successful businesses. Prince Charles has a close relationship with the Canadian Forces serving as Colonel-in-Chief to seven different regiments.
Outcomes include:
-Over 31 businesses started since 2012
-Three ‘Based-in-Business’ entrepreneurial boot camp locations delivered at Memorial University, University of Regina and a French language site at Universite Laval
-70 graduates of ‘Based-in-Business’ since 2012
-More than 145 participants have taken our one-day ‘Be Your Own Boss’ introductory workshops since 2013
The Prince’s Seeing is Believing
"The Prince’s Seeing is Believing (PSiB) brings corporate leaders face to face with social and economic issues, and demonstrates the impact that responsible business can have by closing the gap between the boardroom and the community. Run in partnership with the Wellesley Institute, Prince’s Charities Canada has launched a series of PSiB programs in Canada. With PSiB, C-suite executives take a day out of their offices and gain a new perspective on social issues. With a focus in Canada on disadvantaged youth, we are breaking new ground in helping to develop training and employment opportunities for a sector of our community that is often overlooked and marginalized."
Like the old concept of noblesse oblige this program seeks to remind business leaders that they do have a responsibility to the community due to their position.
There have been six PSiB community visit days featuring 120 senior business leaders and 26 community organizations since 2012 in:
-London, Ontario
-Regina & Weyburn, Saskatchewan
-Toronto, Ontario (3 times)
-Halifax, Nova Scotia
The Prince’s Foundation for Building Community Canada
The PFBC in partnership with PCC held a professional symposium in Toronto From May 13-15, 2013.
The Prince of Wales Prize for Municipal Heritage Leadership
Past winners:
Owen Sound, Ont. (2013)
Saguenay, QC (2012)
Oakville, Ont. (2010)
Edmonton, AB (2009)
Quebec City, QC (2003)
Saint John, NB (2002)
Victoria, BC (2001)
Learning through the Arts
Examples from the website:
-history through role-playing,
-multiplication through songwriting,
-math/geometry through visual arts,
-science through dance &
-language arts through global percussion.
Its been long known that there is a link between musical ability and mathematical ability and to try to create similar linkages with other subjects goes a long way towards engaging students (which really is half the battle).