Two local charities have received a boost thanks to passionate presentations from Orillia Secondary School students.
The school once again took part in the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI), which sees students make pitches in the hope of winning $5,000 for charities of their choice.
This year, schools were given the opportunity of picking more than one winner and splitting the money among charities.
The students who won the competition this year, as determined by civics teachers, were Cacia Laughlin, who went to bat for the Empower Simcoe Foundation, and the team of Chris Hutton, Tessa Smith and Jason Shearer, who were rooting for the Green Haven Shelter for Women.
As a result, each organization will receive $2,500.
Orillia Secondary School has participated in YPI for five years. Prior to the amalgamation that led to the creation of Orillia Secondary School, the former Park Street Collegiate Institute had taken part for more than a decade.
To date, the initiative has led to more than $60,000 being presented to local charities.
