Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Youth in Philanthropy (YiP) group.
The Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Youth in Philanthropy (YiP) group works a little different than the programs run out of the schools. This YiP committee is made up of youth from various schools in the inner city area.
It’s an exciting opportunity for students to be able to see and visit different community serving organizations they are not too familiar with, as well as various non- profit agencies.
YiP group from Ma Ma Wi on one of many site visits.
This year the YiP youth showed high interest in learning more about animal serving agencies around the city. As the site visits took place, the youth became very passionate about this cause and decided to aim at helping these organizations.
They were shocked to discover how much the animal shelters rely on donations and grants, such as a grant from Youth in Philanthropy.
Our group also learned how important volunteers are in these community serving agencies. Most could not operate without volunteers. All the youth plan on becoming more involved by volunteering their time to these organizations in the future.
Another goal of the program is to teach the committee the importance of philanthropy. The youth of Ma Mawi loved meeting and feeling like they were helping to make a positive change in their community.
Finally, there was the meeting where YiP youth sat down to discuss where their grant money was going to be donated. The young people expressed this was the most beneficial part of the whole process. One youth said it made them feel as if their voice was important and could actually be heard.
We are thankful to The Winnipeg Foundation for making it possible for us to participate in this awesome opportunity. We as youth were able to learn new experiences by helping out on issues we believe are very important.
