BONNYVILLE – Local charities were in the spotlight last week when students from Bonnyville Centralized High School (BCHS) learned about the different organizations that make a difference in the community.
Groups shared information on not-for-profits for the Youth Philanthropy Initiative (YPI), an international program that sees Grade 9 students learning about social issues through charitable groups in their community. The winning presentation receives $5,000 to go to their chosen organization. In the end, it was the Lakeland Centre for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) who received the donation this year.
“The idea is that students will research local charities and create a fantastic presentation that will address the social issues, concerns, and why that charity exists,” explained BCHS teacher Lorelei Gertz-Cummins. “The group that puts on the best presentation through practice of their skills and collection of their information won $5,000 to give to their charity.”
For Macara Johnstone, who was a member of the group that presented on the Lakeland Centre for FASD, the topic was personal.
“My sister actually has FASD, and I didn’t know a lot about it. We have to have a reason to pick the charity, so I said we should do it because of that and everyone was like, ‘okay, we’ll put that down,’” the Grade 9 student said.
Teammate Izaiah Schmolke exclaimed, “I didn’t think we would win.”
Johnstone believes the sheer amount of information they had in their presentation gave them the edge they needed to take first place.
“We had to shorten our presentation five times to get it in the time span we had, because we picked the most important information. I think that’s why we won, because we had a lot of information that mattered.”
One of the requirements for students is to find out what the charity would use the money for if they were chosen. Lakeland FASD plans to put the $5,000 toward their summer camp.
“The kids come out, and their parents and caregivers are given a respite,” explained Shalon Thir, human resources for the centre. “The kids have a great time (at the summer camp) in an atmosphere that’s trained to be able to handle their needs.”
Thir offered her congratulations to winning the team, and was excited to hear the centre was chosen for the first time since being included in YPI.
“We’ve put a lot of work… trying to modify and keep the kids that are interviewing us interested in what we have to offer. It’s not a… flashy disability, and not a lot of people know about it. We want to do what we want to get the information out there, and keep people wanting to learn,” she detailed.
According to Gertz-Cummins, BCHS has been involved with YPI for 14 years. During that time, the school has donated over $80,000 to local organizations.
There were 18 presentations this year highlighting groups such as the Bonnyville Health Foundation, Bonnyville RCMP and Victim Services Unit (VSU), Haying in the 30s, Dragonfly Counselling and Support Centre, and the Bonnyville and District FCSS, among others.
One of the main outcomes for YPI is to encourage students to get involved and show the impact local charities have on the community.
“There are students who have accessed these services already, and they’re only 14-years-old,” expressed Gertz-Cummins. “It’s just so important to be able to bring that knowledge to them so that in the future, if they encounter challenges, they know and they’re more aware of what’s available to them.”
