See our FAQ page or contact P.R.O. Kids - 642-PLAY if you can't find the answer you are looking for.
IMPORTANT! - Minor Hockey Applicants Click Here First
Who Can Apply? All children and youth 18 years of age and younger who live in Saint John, Grandbay-Westfield, Rothesay or Quispamsis and who are in financial need.
Applications will be considered on a first come, first serve basis.
P.R.O. Kids assists over 1000 children each year. Applying is as simple as 1,2,3 :
Choose a community-based programof interest in the Greater Saint John Area. P.R.O. Kids may provide up to $500 per year, depending on need, for a child to attend 1 or more programs over the course of the year.
Applications may also be picked up at the P.R.O. Kids office, community centres, from community police officers, school guidance counsellors and social workers
Submit the completed form online, by mail, fax or in person to:
P.R.O Kids
City of Saint John 171 Adelaide St P.O. Box 1971
Saint John, NB E2L 4L1
Phone: (506) 642-7529
Fax:(506) 658-2902
The Reference
Each application requires at least 1 reference (Preferably 2). The application form describes a reference as someone who is familiar with the situation of the applicant and can verify that the applicant is in financial need and requires assistance from P.R.O. Kids.
The reference(s) should be an adult who knows the parent or child, is not a friend or family member, and who is active in community activities.
Examples given are: teacher, volunteercoach, clergy, social worker, group leader, supervisor, police officer. If the applicant has difficulty finding a reference, P.R.O. Kids staff can offer additional suggestions.
To avoid a conflict of interest, P.R.O. Kids does not permit a reference to have a financial stake in the organization where the parent is requesting funding for their child to attend e.g. The owner or employee of a recreation organization cannot be act as reference for a child requesting funding to attend that organization's programs.
DEADLINES
Due to an increase in the number of applications received each year, deadline dates have been created.
An application should be received by a seasonal deadline in order for it to be considered.
Applications received after deadlines are considered applications for the season afterward. E.g. If a parent submits their application for a Fall Activity (Basketball, Football, Hockey, etc) in September (Well After the May 31st Deadline for Fall) P.R.O. Kids will still attempt to treat the application as one for Fall, but realistically, the application will most likely be considered for Winter.
If the child has missed their program due to late submission, P.R.O. kids will attempt to place the child in another activity of their choice when they come to the top of the waitlist.
P.R.O. Kids cannot guarantee assistance even when applications are received by the deadline, as the number of children placed in any given year is dependent on available funding.
P.R.O. Kids will only handle 1 active application per child at a time. Parents cannot submit multiple applications for different seasons for a single child all at once. In the interests of fairness to all applicants, parents must wait until their application has been processed by P.R.O. Kids and their child has been placed in a program before submitting another application.
Parents may only apply only 1 season ahead - see deadline dates below.
Season
Program Start
Application Deadline
Spring
Starting after March 1
January 31
Summer
Starting after June 1
March 31
Fall
Starting after Sept 1
May 31
Winter
Starting after Dec 1
Oct 31
P.R.O. Kids allows children/youth to access one activity each season - Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
The service is for children/youth who are not participating in other paid recreation program at the same time.
While P.R.O. Kids recognizes the merits of having a child in multiple activities at once, due to the limits of P.R.O. Kids funds, and in the interests of fairness to all applicants, P.R.O. Kids will only allow children receiving funding from P.R.O. Kids to be in one paid recreation program at a time.
E.g. If a child is taking music lessons, and wants to go to summer camp, they will need to stop attending music lessons for the summer in order to attend camp. They would be eligible to continue with music lessons in the fall provided they submit a new application.
This policy does not apply to free recreation programs e.g. Community Centre Programs, Sistema, free afterschool extra-curricular activities, etc.
Children can be in 1 paid program and as many free programs as they like.
Programs that are paid for by another family member,friend, or organization are not considered free
Applicants who abuse this policy will not be eligible for funding the following year.
P.R.O. Kids does not assume responsibility for registering children in activities. The parent/guardian is responsible for registering directly with the identified partner organization once P.R.O. Kids has linked them.
Families are encouraged to speak with the sports or recreation organization their child is interested in joining before the child's program starts.
Periodically, P.R.O. Kids staff cannot handle the volume of applications in time for the start of certain programs. P.R.O. Kids will send organizations a list of children who are on the P.R.O. Kids Waitlist and applying for funding in their program. Many times, these organizations will allow applicants to start attending a program as soon as they hear that the child is on the P.R.O. Kids Waitlist.
If a child is registered in an activity before being approved by P.R.O. Kids, the parent/guardian is responsible for covering any costs associated with that activity until the time of approval.
P.R.O. Kids does not reimburse parents; payment will be arranged directly with the organization offering the activity.
The parent/guardian is responsible for ensuring that the child attends the program. If transportation or equipment is an issue, contact the P.R.O. Kids Manager at 642-7529.
If for some reason the child can no longer participate or attend their program, the parent/guardian must contact P.R.O. Kids right away so another child can fill the space. Failure to do so will result in ineligibility for funding the following year.
Positive Recreation Opportunities for Kids is operated by the City of Saint John
