Young people often have innovative solutions to fix problems they see in their communities, they just need to be heard and supported – that is the idea behind the upcoming Young Philanthropy Council Mini-Grants day on June 7, at the Vancouver Public Library.
Youth aged 12 to 24 from across metro Vancouver are invited to attend the event to pitch ideas for projects that will address one or more of the issues that came out of a Vancouver Foundation survey of 3500 Lower Mainland youth.
The Youth Vital Signs survey, released in November of 2013, found young people aged 15 to 24 living in Burnaby and New Westminster, felt less positive than youth in other regions about three particular aspects of their community.
Education, transportation and culture and identity (and belonging) in the region were given Cs, while youth in the rest of metro Vancouver gave these aspects of their communities Bs.
Burnaby’s Andy Lin, 16, is a member of the council, which will be hearing the grant pitches, and he also helped design and analyze the original Vital Signs survey. He said he was surprised at some of grades given by his peers.
“I feel the education is OK here, I don’t see why it would be a C. For transportation, Burnaby is pretty central - it is really easy to travel to other places, so I don’t see why that is a C,” he said, adding that the lower grade for culture, identity and belonging made a bit more sense to him because he thinks many ethnic groups stick to themselves in Burnaby.
Lin, who is in Grade 11 at Burnaby South Secondary, said he is curious what ideas other youth will come up with to help address the areas of concern in Burnaby.
“Youth Vital Signs reflects the opinions of 15 to 18 year olds, which is also the bracket which is unable to vote and so this is actually a very good opportunity for them to voice their opinions,” he said.
Adults at the Vancouver Foundation, which funds the grants, agree.
“It is a way to inspire youth led action,” said Nicole MacLellan, the foundation’s manager of grants and community initiatives.
“Hopefully it will spark a discussion between young people and decision makers on how they can work together to address some of these important issues.”
Mini-grants can be awarded for up to $500 per project and will be given to selected youth who have paired with a non-profit organization or a school.
In addition to dolling out grants, the council has hosted community conversations to discuss the issues raised in the survey and will host further community conversations in Burnaby sometime this fall.
To register for Mini-Grants day and for updates on the upcoming community conversations go to vfypc.ca.
