NEWS RELEASE
RAINBOW INITIATIVE ORILLIA
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It was a very exciting weekend for members of Rainbow Initiative Orillia, a youth-led group that brings kids from across Orillia together to share ideas about how to make the community better, and then gives them support to make those ideas come true.
After several months of planning, groups pitched their “ideas” (a full project plan including proposed budget) to a panel of judges.
The judges – Mark Burns, Ross McIntyre and Theresa Soper – then deliberated and awarded seed funding to the groups to help them move forward in implementing their ideas. The funding totalled $1750 across the five idea groups.
The five ideas that have gained support and are moving towards implementation are:
- Raccoon Skate Club — increasing visibility of beginner-friendly ramps and adding new opportunities for kids to learn and practise in a safe space.
- Challenges Across Orillia — creating a series of fun community adventure challenges to make our city the best it can be.
- Pollinator City Art Mural — dedicating a space in our downtown area where children and families can collectively create art to encourage innovation and expression.
- Steamifying Sustainability — starting a day camp for children to learn about sustainability related issues with a focus on science, technology, engineering, art, mathematics related activities and field trips.
- Inclusion Book Club Community Discussion Group — reading and discussing books about various social issues to connect different generations.
The Pitch Day was held at the Orillia Youth Centre and was well attended with approximately 40 people present, including Mayor Don McIsaac and City Councillor Janet-Lynne Durnford.
“This event was the incredible culmination of a lot of hard work. All the participants really dove into the details of their projects, while balancing that with a genuine passion for positive change. That's not easy to do at any age,” shared Ross McIntyre who volunteered as a judge at the event. McIntyre went on to share that “the Rainbow Initiative has set a high standard for what genuine child/youth-led projects can look like.”
When asked about what it meant to him to participate in this initiative, Scott Johnstone (aged 9) said “it was exciting to be asked questions about our project and to be able to answer them in a good way.”
Sadie Jefferies (aged 9) shared similar feedback about the event.
“It was so much fun to see all the other kids and hear their ideas! I am happy to be a part of my (art mural) group. I have already learned so much,” she said.
Sophie Locke (aged 14), one of the organizers and a participant in the Art Mural group, believes this opportunity is important because “kids are often underestimated.” She went on to explain that “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.”
Each group was partnered with two supportive adult mentors to help the kids think through their ideas and turn them into detailed proposals. The group is thankful to the following adults for taking on the mentor role: Monica Lockie, Annalise Stenekes, Valerie Powell, Dennis Rizzo, Naheed Syed, Joanne Mohan, Bonita Coons, Chris Johnstone, and Mark and Grace from Pocket.
The group is also grateful for the support of Sunshine Initiative and Kiwanis Club of Orillia in getting this unique youth-led initiative off the ground this past year.
They will pause for the summer months and then reconvene in September to work towards implementation of the projects.
For more information, please reach out to [email protected]
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