Two Orillia Secondary School (OSS) students have won $5,000 for Salvation Army Orillia after coming out on top in a Grade 10 competition that concluded this week.
More than 200 students participated in this year’s Youth Philanthropy Initiative; they were tasked with researching and visiting a local charity of their choice, researching its work and impact in the community, and presenting what they learned to their peers.
On Wednesday, the top four presentations were judged by former finalists and school officials, with Abigail Howard and Kyra Ducharme coming out on top and winning $5,000 for Salvation Army.
The Grade 10 students said it feels “really good” to be able to help out the Salvation Army, which they learned quite a bit about over the course of preparing their presentation.
“I think (YPI is) really good because we went to visit the charity, too,” said Ducharme following the win.
“During research, we found out about the social issues, how common they were, and how many people in Orillia alone are homeless or can’t afford anything," she explained.
“It really just made me want to be part of everything, especially when … 220 meals are donated (by Salvation Army) every single Friday in just two hours to people — it just shows how many people actually need the food.”
The students said all proceeds from the win will go towards helping Salvation Army buy food for their clients — an activity they will both be part of.
“The Salvation Army has said that the money is going to go directly into buying fresh food for the food bank, because a lot of people want to have milk and meat and things like that to cook with and to use for better nutritional value,” said Howard. “This money is going directly into that, and we’re shopping with them soon to go buy (everything).”
This year is the seventh year OSS has participated in the Youth Philanthropy Initiative, providing local charities with $35,000 over that span.
The initiative was founded in 2002 by the Toskan Casale Foundation with the goal of empowering young people to support social issues in their communities.
“YPI is an opportunity for students to step up in their community to learn about the different social issues people are facing,” said OSS teacher Nathan Box. “With over 95 schools across Canada participating, the impact and reach of YPI is incredible.”
Since beginning in 2002, the Youth Philanthropy Initiative has provided over $17 million in grants to charities in Canada, the United Kingdom, and New York.
