There are always moments with any group of people that stress you out, but once you get everyone doing something they’re interested in, then anything can happen. That’s what makes YiP so great! You can choose organizations based on whatever interests you and, with the small committee that we have, there is more room for you to help more organizations you like. Right away our group wanted to help the environment, children, animals, and people new to Canada. We made a big list and after our site visits we narrowed it down to our top seven organizations that we liked the most. It wasn’t easy but we made the decisions as a group.

YiP is a committee that’s open to everyone. It’s not just a committee for people interested in sports, or games, but it’s for anyone who is passionate about something. I joined YiP this year as one of the two returning members from last year. It was a totally new year, with new people, most of them I didn’t know. In a matter of days we all became a great group of friends because we all wanted to help the community. We are all different in many ways, but we all want to help our community. Maybe it was the meetings every week at lunch on Thursdays, or maybe it was the laughs we shared at the endless amount of funny pictures we took. Maybe it was our YiP in Action! project, Kitts with Mitts. Maybe it was the traditional chicken finger feast on our site visits. No matter what it was, YiP brought a group of youth with many differences together for one purpose: to help change our community. That’s why I love YiP! It’s more than something to do at lunch and it’s more than a committee. YiP is a movement of youth who are passionate about their community, and it’s something that I’m glad to be a part of!

RB Russell's committee at Agape Table

We were asked to arrive at Agape Table between 10 and 11am. When we arrived it became apparent why; it was because they were serving food for their breakfast program at this time. We saw that there were people who had no money eating a free meal and people on a very limited income eating a meal, too.                                                                                           

The place was really busy, and our tour guide was pulled away a few times to deal with various people or crises.  She took us on a tour of the whole facility and showed us all the things they do there. We learned that they do so much more than just run a breakfast program. In the basement they had a discount grocery store which offered a variety of healthy groceries available at discounted rates, or at cost. The food for the grocery store is all donated by local farmers and gardeners.                                                                                                          

After we visited the grocery store, our guide showed us the walk-in cooler, which they were able to purchase through a grant from another organization. She seemed very excited that they were able to make such a large and significant purchase, which enabled them to accept much larger food donations as well as keep food for longer. This would eventually inspire us to offer to use our grant money to purchase a cooler for their grocery store.                        

The last thing they showed us was the clothing and toiletries area where people in need were able to acquire the basic life necessities, such as toothpaste, underwear and soap. While we were there staff made some special arrangements to help a man who was being bullied by some other people outside.                                                                                               

Agape Table offers many services to people in need, such as food, clothing and other necessities. They work hard to help homeless people as well as people on a fixed income, while still helping them to maintain their dignity. 

-RB Russell YiP committee

Admittedly, writing this is a bit daunting when it really should not be. I mean, how hard could it be to sum up my Youth in Philanthropy experience? It is when I realize that YiP led to my experience in the Summer Internship Program, and SIP led to my experience in Stockholm+40, and that experience led to my joining the Global Young Leaders Conference . . . . that it suddenly becomes obvious this is a daunting task indeed. 

Marie in front of Stockholm City Hall in Sweden

I hope to paint a detailed picture of the sheer magnitude and importance that YiP has played in my life. Back in 2008, as a young, bright-eyed grade 9 student at Westwood Collegiate, my introduction to YiP came through my friends at St. Mary’s Academy who had been a part of the program. They spurred my curiosity about the program and this led to me going to the first meeting of . . . . about 4 other students. However, as I soon learned, what our committee lacked in numbers, we made up for in passion and dedication. It was this atmosphere, as well as the enjoyment I got from being exposed to the extensive not-for-profit network in Winnipeg that inspired me to volunteer as an interschool representative by the end of my grade 9 year. 

I was an interschool rep for my entire high school career and I quickly realized that I was involved in YiP during a very unique period of time. For example, back then, my position was rare on the committee as it was often older students who were chosen to represent their schools. I was able to watch the interschool committee grow from the packed boardroom of The Winnipeg Foundation with about 20 representatives to a much larger conference room on the 17th floor with almost 30 committees represented by two students per school. I was involved when a suggestion for more interschool events eventually became YiP’s Battle of the Bands for two years running. And as an intern chosen for SIP in the summer of 2011, I benefitted from the (then) record expansion of 10 internship placements. 

Marie (second from right) during her placement in the SIP program

As you will find out by asking any SIP alumni, no two SIP experiences is ever the same. For myself, my placement at the Manitoba Eco-Network was not only educational and rewarding, but it also perfectly complemented my passion and work within the environmental field. My SIP experience facilitated my participation in Stockholm+40, an international conference on sustainability held in Stockholm, Sweden. As one of only 3 Canadian youth delegates representing the Young Masters Programme - an online youth platform on sustainability that I was part of – I was able to network with passionate and innovative individuals within both the private and public sectors as well as participate in roundtable discussions dedicated to the improvement of global sustainability. 

Marie at the John Lennon Wall in Prague

My extensive involvement in YiP and other committees led to my nomination for the Global Young Leaders Conference in Europe held in July 2012. This conference is basically a travelling event held in the cities of Vienna, Austria; Budapest, Hungary; and Prague, Czech Republic. GYLC gathers passionate youth from all around the world to develop leadership skills, challenge mindsets within a cross-cultural context and facilitate discussion on global issues. I networked with other students from all around the world, and I now have standing invitations to places such as South Africa, the Caiman Islands and Indonesia. Together, both GYLC and Stockholm+40 represent the countless opportunities that YiP opened up that I could never have imagined as a grade 9 student more than 4 years ago. 

Now, as an environmental life science student at Queen’s University with hopes of eventually entering medicine, I can only hope that my story encourages you to not only extensively participate in YiP, but also to apply your utmost passion towards anything that you pursue. You will never know exactly how far it will take you!

Hi, my name is Janina and I did my internship at Global College at the University of Winnipeg. I am from Germany (I live in the northern part of Germany, very close to Hamburg). I was very excited to have the chance to do my internship in Winnipeg, at Global College! I (hopefully) improved my English by working there

Janina (second from left) and friends in the SIP program

During my time there, I researched a lot about the college system in Canada. After this research, I did some wrap-up work for the Adventures in Global Citizenship (AGC) course I took part in earlier during my placement. After the course, there are very busy days in which there is a lot of work to do, so my task was to check every student’s assignment submissions and get them ready for mailing. I also took care of the front desk at Global College.

During the days after AGC, I read every assessment by the participating students and created a report on their feedback. I wrote an e-mail to all students and asked them for some testimonies to help us promote the course. After finishing this, we reflected on the course, asking questions like: “what went well?”, “what can we improve?”, and “how can we improve it?”. All these questions were considered in the following meeting with the co-director of the course, the principal of Global College and one of the guest faculties. Moreover, we thought about the future of AGC. And budgeting is also a large factor of these post-course discussions.

It was also my job to document the course by taking photographs. When I had a first glance at all the photos I had taken during the course, I think we can work with most of them (we will need them to promote the course).

Janina taking photos during AGC

We also looked at AGC Promotion for next year. So, together with the student assistant at Global College, I created a new AGC website. Believe me, a lot of things had to be considered. The color of the title, the structure of it, and for sure to keep the content in mind. For me, it was a little challenging to work on the website because English is not my first language. Especially when transcribing, sometimes it was really hard to understand. But – all in all - it has worked fine and it worked better as I thought it would! I really enjoyed working on AGC, because it is a great course; I think it is well worth it to take it!

In addition to my experience with AGC and my other responsibilities at Global College, I also got the chance to work closely with the Rotary Clubs of Winnipeg to help organize many aspects of the International Day of Peace concert.

International Day of Peace concert poster

So, you see, working at Global College was busy!

After spending three months learning from the staff at Global College, Janina headed off to Marseille, France to work as an au pair for a few months before starting university next year. We miss her in Winnipeg!

Alrighty. I’m had my internship at Seven Oaks General Hospital (SOGH). . . . but not quite. I was in the SOGH Foundation along with the four ladies who keep it running.

On the Tuesday when I started my internship, Pam (my main mentor) and I got to the SOGH and we kicked things off with a tour. SOGH is really three buildings synchronized into one high-functioning mega care centre of love. The corporate office is where the corporate stuff happens like paychecks, patient complaints, etc., and also where the Foundation is. It’s really the people that make corporate fun.

The hospital is obviously the largest part being five stories tall and filled with busy people. The most interesting part of SOGH in my opinion would have to be the dialysis facility they have. You just walk in the room and you see rows of beds ready to help somebody. The facility was great to see and it warmed my heart to see what Winnipeg has to offer for people who use the long process of dialysis on a  daily basis. The third part of the hospital is the Wellness Centre. It’s a two story facility made for fitness and well, wellness.

Once we get back to the office, I got my tasks assigned: four research projects. The first is to find some suitable candidates that would give SOGHF a grant, the second is a social media campaign to promote a musical at Rainbow Stage, third is to find events that other foundations or organizations have held and give a detailed plan as to how well they fared, and finally, research the country Angola to find out what the citizens of the country need and the best ways for our doctors to reach and help them. I set up a plan for when I should get each project done, opting to go in that order pretty much. I allotted three weeks for completion of the first project and two weeks each for the others. Turns out I’m a keener because I finished the first one by the first Friday!

Zach (far right) and other interns

During my time there we faced some challenges and had a very drastic change in our event planning at the office. I remember that it was Pam’s birthday so I had got her some hand sanitizer, and one of those things to attach them to purses, and a $10 gift card just because I’m a nice guy like that. That was the extreme side of happy, but of course something terrible had to happen. SOGH holds a Gala in which a lot of important people attend. The celebrity chef who was booked to host the event passed away suddenly and we had just received the news. Pam had worked hard on securing him to come to the Gala and they were emailing each other not too far from his death. We were all so saddened at this news and had to quickly readjust our plans.

My next few days after that were very very very very productive. I pounded out a lot of information and felt really good about it. I met with Laurel to discuss social media tactics which was fun and insightful. I learned a lot about what would make my report even better and I set up a meeting with Laurel and Sunny for the end of the week that would go over some soon closing grants. I felt so energetic and ready to work!

The thing about the Ma Mawi is they have so many different programs and many different locations affiliated with the organization that - though I am involved with youth programs - I do a different thing every week, allowing me to get to know as much about the organization as possible. Last week I worked with a group of kids at Turtle Island which is just down the street from the Ma Mawi Wi, spending lots of time colouring and playing outside and in the gym.

This week I’m working with Spirit of the Peace at Ma Mawi and have the privilege of spending the day with some amazing kids. We started our day today with a big game of Life with most of the kids, while a few of them spent time on the computer playing their favourite game, Club Penguin. 

Before long, the nice weather and park were calling the kids names!

So off we went, and many rounds of Grounders were played and enjoyed by all. We arrived back at the centre feeling a bit tired, dirty, maybe even sweaty, and very thirsty with time for a few rounds of cards and a game of Connect 4 before lunch.

Shandra (right) and her mentor Tiffany (left)

At 1 pm with kids and bathing suits in tow, we headed down Main Street in the van to the outdoor pool and splash park at Kildonan Park. However, when we arrived at the gates (after getting my mom to drive me over a bathing suit since I had forgotten it a home….oops!) we found that no one was swimming and there was a line of annoyed people waiting outside. The pool had been closed! 

As we tried to figure out where to go instead, the kids played about a million and two more rounds of Grounders. I thought I loved that game but even I can’t play as many games as they can without getting to exhausted from the “Broken dishes” claims, running around like crazy and hanging precariously off the edges of the structure! By about 1:30 pm we were back in the van and off to the North Centennial indoor pool for our afternoon of swimming. As a few kids had forgotten their bathing suits at home, or at the Centre (which they went and got), I spent 2 hours playing in the water with 5 kids who I swear never, ever get tired! A few swimming lessons later, tons of tag and Marco Polo and a triumphant  4-lap swim to get into the deep end later, I was exhausted. And yet, I couldn’t tell you if the kids were happier or if I was. We had managed a very successful and full day and I had even remembered all of their names! Tomorrow is movie day so maybe I won’t feel like falling asleep as soon as I get on the bus ride home