An Orillia Secondary School (OSS) student has earned $5,000 for Green Haven Shelter for Women.
Around 150 Grade 10 students participated in the Youth Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) program this year. The program tasks students with researching and visiting a local charity of choice, learning about the services they provide to the community, and then sharing that knowledge through a presentation with their classmates.
The top four presentations are then selected to be judged by school officials and former champions of the program to determine which presenter will earn $5,000 toward their respective charity.
The YPI was started at Park Street Collegiate Institute in 2007. Around $60,000 has been put back into the community through the program since then.
Civics teacher Nathan Box says it’s important for OSS to get students involved with the program each year.
“It’s a tradition,” he said. “It really teaches students about community involvement.”
After participating in the program, Box says most students go on to continue supporting local charities as a volunteer.
“They really learn about the difference these charities are making in the community,” he said. “They go to the charity, they get involved, and they themselves make a difference.”
The top four participants presented their projects in the school’s cafeteria on Friday afternoon. Aubrey McNutt was selected as the champion for her presentation on Green Haven Shelter.
She says she chose the charity because abuse and domestic violence are something that impacts so many people in the community.
“It’s not addressed enough,” she said. “We all know it happens, we all know people who are affected by it, but there is never enough support.”
McNutt says through participating in the program and listening to her peers present their projects, she learned a lot about the services that are provided in the community.
After visiting Green Haven Shelter for Women, McNutt says she learned about all the "amazing supports" the organization provides to local women in need.
“Half of the charities that presentations were done on, I had no idea they were in Orillia,” she said. “I’ve lived in Orillia my entire life, but even with Green Haven I thought they were just a shelter and that’s all they did.”
Being the champion of the program and earning $5,000 for Green Haven Shelter for Women has left McNutt in “shock.”
“When I woke up this morning, I wasn’t expecting to be holding $5,000 in my hands,” she said.
McNutt says the shelter plans on using the money for food, hygiene supplies, baby products, and more support for transitional housing.
“Because the housing crisis is awful, they don’t have the ability to help people get through the shelter and to a safe place on the other side,” she said. “It limits their ability to help people.”
McNutt says she plans on being involved in Green Haven Shelter for Women or other charities going forward.
Natalie Harris, community development manager for Green Haven Shelter for Women, says the organization is thrilled to have been honoured by the YPI and McNutt's project.
"We are always in need of extra funding for programming," she said. "It was a pleasure having Aubrey at the shelter for a tour and we are so proud of her."
Harris says the awareness that the YPI creates for local charities is just as impactful as the money.
"It sets the example that getting involved in your community as a student can really make your opportunities branch into so many great things," she said.
