Group of children working together in a tug of war contest

About us

Here at Powered by CAN we want children, young people and young adults to feel powerful, valued and connected. Through the variety of services that we provide, we want young people to develop a CAN-DO attitude that enables them to thrive and reach their full potential!

Two young people smiling and laughing in front of a cafe

Powering up change for young people and communities

Powered by CAN work with children, young people and young adults across the Black Country and the wider Midlands region. Previously Creative Academies Network, Powered by CAN was created, built and developed in Sandwell. We want to empower young people from the region to feel the same pride and purpose for their community as we do.

Young people are at the heart of everything we do, and we make ensure that they are always put first by doing the following:

  • Championing for young people and making their voices heard.
  • Encouraging young people to participate and involve themselves within their local community.
  • Kick starting personal and social development by providing fun and engaging arts, play and sport activities.

We believe in providing opportunities for young people and we want to support them to lead the change they want to see, whether that’s at a personal level or within the local community.

Powered by CAN volunteer working with children to create a cardboard house

Our Purpose

Our Vision

How we can work together to make a difference…
We want to power up children, young people and young adults to live with pride, purpose and prepared to make positive life choices.

 

Our Mission

How we can make the change…
Powering children, young people and young adults to lead the change they want to see through the delivery of services, opportunities and experiences to contribute at every stage of their lives, for a fairer future.

Young person crouching in a red boiler suit

Our Values

Our Values are really important to us, they make us who we are and are at the centre of everything that we do. It is our responsibility to ensure these values are upheld and that we lead by example.

  • Care
  • Challenge
  • Commitment
  • Collaboration
  • Creative
  • Community
Collection of positive phrases painted on wooden blocks by Girls CAN participants

Our Objectives

Pride of place

To develop collective understanding and knowledge on the identity of place to strengthen the services that are relevant to meet the needs of children, young people and young adults.

Positive programmes and principles

To deliver ambitious, high quality opportunities and experiences for children, young people and young adults – strengthening best practice for the sector to meet soft, hard and transferable skills.

Powering participants and people

To build on the strengths and needs of children, young people and young adults so that they thrive and are resilient into adulthood.

A young person in by a microphone in a recording studio as part of Powered by Can's Brotherhood project

Pushing performance and policy

To influence policy and investment to prioritise services for children, young people and young adults.

Playing our part!

To ensure our workforce, volunteers and board are dynamic, diverse and driven to be reputable and responsive – representing a rights based approach for people and place.