Miles Macdonell Collegiate (Youth and Seniors for a Better Tomorrow)
June 2000 (Amount granted: $1000.00)
Youth Connections’ pilot project involved approximately forty Grade Twelve students teaming up with local seniors to repair a number of homes owned by low-income families in the East Kildonan and Elmwood areas. The seniors provided expertise and tools, gained through years of experience in carpentry and other trades, while the students provided the organization and free labor, resulting in an intergenerational effort that enhanced not only each individual home, but the surrounding neighborhood as well.
June 2001 (Amount granted: $1000.00)
The Grade Twelve class of 2001 applied for a grant to repair a building in Winnipeg ‘s North End. The Youth Connections Council approved their request, and with further help from Habitat for Humanity, the Miles Macdonell students made several cosmetic repairs to the Restoration House Outreach building at 193 McGregor. This project team, along with a member of the Youth Connections Council, was featured in a television profile on Shaw Channel 11.
Kelvin High School (Kelvin Bridges Initiative)
December 20, 2000 (Amount granted: $1000.00)
The entire student population of Pinkham Elementary School (more than 180 children) spent a morning at Kelvin High School . They were invited by Kelvin students who thought that the experience would help to create a sense of community by showing both groups what is beyond their immediate surroundings. Teenagers are often portrayed in a negative light in the media, and high school can be intimidating to younger children because of this. The Kelvin students hoped to give the Pinkham children an experience that would change their perceptions of high school as a frightening place to attend. The elementary kids were given breakfast when they arrived at Kelvin High School, and the rest of the morning was spent playing games and doing other fun activities. In total, over 100 Kelvin students worked on this project, some of them spending countless hours making phone calls, asking for donations, making posters and taking care of every small detail.
General Byng School (Youth Enrichment Conference)
March 8, 2001 & May 29, 2001 (Amount granted: $800.00)
This was a two-part project, with Grade Nine students working on a Youth Justice Conference and Grade Eight students organizing an afternoon of activities with a medieval theme. The purpose of the Youth Justice Conference was to educate students about aspects of the justice system and to stimulate thinking and dialogue about the consequences of one’s actions. An intriguing play entitled “Rocks” opened the conference, and the rest of the event was spent in breakout sessions, where students listened and spoke to presenters from Corrections, Victim Services, Winnipeg Police Services and the law community.
The Grade Eight medieval project took place on May 29, 2001 and challenged students to think about the past through a series of hands-on experiences designed to recreate the conditions of medieval times.
Maples Collegiate (Unity Day)
March 21, 2001 (Amount granted: $1000.00)
In 1996, students at Maples Collegiate decided that they wanted to address issues related to racism and discrimination. The forum that they came up with to address those issues was Unity Day, a multicultural event that showcases the diverse cultural makeup of the Maples community. Unity Day promotes mutual respect for cultural differences by exposing students to a variety of experiences, by challenging them to consider other points of view, and by celebrating the diversity of the school and the surrounding neighborhood. In 2001, Unity Day was held on March 21 st , to coincide with the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The Youth Connections Council welcomed the opportunity to become involved in this important endeavor.
Nelson McIntyre Collegiate (Teaching Seniors to Use Computers)
April 2001 (Amount granted: $350.00)
When several seniors phoned Nelson McIntyre Collegiate asking for help with their computers, a group of students decided to set up a program where volunteers spend some time each week showing local seniors everything they need to know in order to adapt to an increasingly technological world. The tutoring was all one-on-one, so each senior received the time and personal attention that they needed. By all accounts, this project was a big success; more than 8 seniors received computer instruction from April – June 2001, and the project was continued when school began again the next fall.
Maples Collegiate (Breaking Age Barriers)
June 2001 (Amount granted: $600.00)
To strengthen community relationships and break down barriers caused by age differences, a small group of Grade Twelve students organized a project that took place at Arthur E. Wright Community School . The school had recently expanded from K – 6 to K – 8, and because there were older students attending the school, the library had to stock more age-appropriate books. The Maples project team bought books and donated them to the students, but first they spent some time reading to them, hoping to set a good example and demonstrate that reading is fun.
Since 2000, the Youth Connections Council has funded more than 100 youth-led projects, granting more than $80,000! For some examples of the kinds of projects we’ve funded in the past, check out these pages:
- 2000-2001 projects
- 2001-2002 projects
- 2002-2003 projects
- 2003-2004 projects
- 2004-2005 projects
- 2005-2006 projects
- 2006-2007 projects
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