BONNYVILLE – At the end of January, members of the Bonnyville Dove Centre and Haying in the 30’s, learned that the charitable organizations they work with had been selected as the recipients for $2,500 grant donations provided by the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI).
For more than 15 years, Grade 9 Language Arts students from Bonnyville Centralized High School (BCHS) have participated in the YPI project that is sponsored by the Toskan-Casale Foundation.
The purpose of the YPI project is to strengthen support for local social issues by empowering middle school students to determine where grant dollars would be best put to use in their own communities.
“In teams, students learned about social issues impacting their community, chose a charity that addresses one issue to research and visit, and then shared what they learned with their peers through classroom presentations held on Jan. 20,” Assistant Principal Bruce Greengrass of BCHS told Lakeland This Week.
Greengrass further explained that of the student presentations, the top presenters advanced to the YPI Final where a youth-led panel of judges selected two teams to win a $2,500 grant for the charity they represented.
The YPI Final took place on Jan. 25 and included NLPS Board Member Roy Ripkens and two senior student judges, Morganne Baxter and Emma Richard.
For the annual YPI competition, “The judges were challenged to identify the best presentations as each of the six finalist teams made an excellent presentation on behalf of their charity,” said Greengrass.
The winning presentations and charities were Haying in the 30’s presented by Taylor Ballard, Elaina Bokota, Ashlyn Tkachuk and Teagan Dadey, as well as the Dove Centre presented by Tameron Dobos.
Bonnyville Dove Centre
“It's just an honor to be chosen,” said Robert Goulet, the CEO for the Bonnyville Dove Centre.
The Dove Centre is a non-profit agency that provides support for those with disabilities to enjoy independence and employment while fostering a meaningful and inclusive quality of life. The agency also operates two social enterprises in Bonnyville, the Bargain Boutique and the Bottle Depot.
Goulet says nearly every year students from BCHS select the Dove Centre as an organization to present on and learn more about, but the organization has not been selected as a YPI recipient very often.
Describing the process he said, “Basically, the students have a list of questions that they ask and then we give them as much information as we can. Typically, we pass it around (to staff members). I've done it one year, and my coordinators have done it another year. So, we try to give everybody that experience and maybe that different perspective so that we have a better chance of being selected.”
“We look forward to (participating) every year,” said Goulet, adding, “There are so many great organizations out there that could benefit and deserve the money.”
With the $2,500 that is expected to be delivered sometime in March, the Dove Centre will put the funds toward a sensory room and an all-purpose room that is being developed.
“(The) all-purpose learning room that we have is where people can use computers and different resources... they can access the internet and look up YouTube videos about things that they want to learn. So, it's kind of a learning center but we call it our all-purpose room,” explained Goulet.
The other room that will benefit from the grant is a sensory space at the centre that offers a space for those who may need to relax and de-stimulate or need to stimulate their senses.
“Depending on who is in it and what their needs are, we use the different aspects of the room. So, somebody might go in there if they are feeling a little anxious and feeling bad – they might turn the lights down and have some calming sounds in the background. Or they might go in there if they need a tactile stimulation, so they might go and grab a bunch of things and be able to manipulate them in their hands, and they might calm down and refocus that way,” he said.
Another element of the initiative that Goulet says he appreciates is that it introduces students to the field of non-profit and charitable work who may not have thought that it could be a viable career option.
“It opens up that information for them saying, ‘Hey, you know what, I never thought of that avenue and maybe I'd like to explore that further.’ So, it's definitely a benefit to us in the long term,” he said, adding “We were very lucky and fortunate – that money will be put to good use for sure.”
Haying in the 30’s
The presentation about Haying in the 30’s was also a winning finalist of the BCHS YPI contest.
The non-profit, which is based out of Mallaig, started in 1999 and raises money to support cancer victims who are undergoing treatment.
Martin Naundorf, the current president of Haying in the 30’s, explains that the charity has assisted 6,600 people undergoing cancer treatment in the last two decades and has handed out over $5 million in support.
Originally, the charitable organization was designed specifically for residents of the Lakeland, but now offers support to cancer victims across Canada.
“If you're a resident of Alberta, we will pay you $1,000 and if you're outside of the province it's $500,” Naundorf said. “The Lakeland region has priority. We pay those people first and then if we have any money left over, we provide support outside the Lakeland.”
Those who qualify for assistance have to complete an application provided on the organization's website and then a Payout Committee reviews the applicants and disperses financial support based on available funds.
“We get a lot of support out of Bonnyville. It's the second time the high schools have donated to our organization,” he said, adding, “The last couple years has been a little harder because of COVID but the donations are still coming in above our expectations.”
Naundorf has volunteered with the Haying in the 30’s for the last 10 years after losing his wife to cancer.
The organization typically raises the bulk of its funds through a Heritage Day long weekend event, held at the Haying in the 30’s grounds outside of Mallaig. Farming and other historical demonstrations take place, allowing the thousands of attendees to experience life in the early 1900s.
The August long weekend event has not been able to take place for the last two summers, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
