Empower local children and they will make Orillia a better place to live. That's the philosophy of the Rainbow Initiative Orillia, created by Alida Tomasini, 14.
“I want kids to be able to do things for themselves," said Tomasini who's going into Grade 9 at Twin Lakes Secondary School in September.
The Rainbow Initiative teaches children to voice their ideas, develop a project step-by-step and then launch it with seed funding.
Tomasini ran two brainstorming sessions last fall at Lakehead University attracting children between the ages of 9 and 15 who brought ideas for what they'd like to see in the city. The group came up with five projects, each with a child leader, child supporters and adult mentors.
"My job was to get the funding and get the people together," said Tomasini.
The group raised $750 at the Orillia Farmers' Market. That was matched by the Orillia Kiwanis Club and the Sunshine Initiative kicked in another $300, for a total of $1,800.
Each group prepared an action plan and pitched their ideas to a panel of judges this spring, who awarded each group some grant money.
“I think it's exciting for kids to be able to create something that didn’t exist before and have something come to fruition out of thin air. You had a idea and now you are going to make that idea come true," said Annalise Stenekes, an adult mentor for the group.
Tomasini and Stenekes said there are not enough resources like the Rainbow Initiatives that aim to turn children's ideas into reality.
“Kids are amazing. They have all these ideas and they are trying so hard and they know it would be amazing for other kids to have this opportunity,” said Tomasini.
The children are enjoying their summer holiday, but come fall, they will continue to work on their projects with the goal of launching them next spring.
Here's what they came up with:
CHALLENGES ACROSS ORILLIA
Led by 11-year-old Evie Johnstone, who's going into Grade 6 at Lion's Oval in the fall, this challenge is an active game that teaches people about Orillia.
Participants will use an app on their cell phones to follow clues in downtown Orillia and find objects with a QR Code and a question. Correctly answered questions garner the participant points. Participants will be able to redeem points for prizes.
"I thought it was fun and a good idea," said Johnstone.
STEAMIFY SUSTAINABILITY
Led by Fatima Khattak, 13, her idea is to create seven workshops for children, taught by children to understand environmental sustainability through STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math).
“We want to explain sustainability to children and work on it through STEAM,” she said.
"One of our projects would be to build a solar-powered oven and through that they are supposed to understand the importance of the sun and solar energy in helping biodiversity grow and flourish,” said the teen.
RACOON SKATE CLUB
Led by competitive skateboarder Lucy Goodman, 12, this project aims to create a skateboarding club for children, complete with equipment and instruction.
“Our idea is to get a group of kids that are interested in skateboarding and meet at the skateboard park once or twice a week. It would be a fun, safe space to hang out and skate for a bit,” Goodman said.
Part of the $500 grant money would be used to purchase equipment and part of it would go toward the construction of small, portable features such as boxes and ramps that are better for beginners.
“I have a lot of bumps and bruises from skateboarding because there is not a lot of little stuff,” said Scott Johnstone, 9, who is also working on the project.
INCLUSION BOOK CLUB
Bringing together children and seniors to read and talk about social justice issues as a book club is the brainchild of Myles Barnetson, 11.
“We are going to choose a social issue topic out of the jar, such as racism, war, disability, and then everybody picks a different book that’s from the topic," said Barnetson.
At the next meeting, everyone can talk about the book they read or read from prepared notes from the customized journals given to members.
POLLINATOR CITY ART MURAL
Sophie Locke, 14, is organizing this art project which will be given a space in downtown Orillia for children to share their art.
“Children have a very open mind and can spot the challenges that our community has. I would love it if we could get more youth involved in our community to make it a better place,” she said.
For more information, visit the group's Instagram page: rainbowinitiativeorillia or the Facebook page: rainbowinitiativeorillia.
