St. James Collegiate Youth in Philanthropy Committee.
As spring time rolls around, an end to another fun-filled term for the St. James Collegiate Youth in Philanthropy Committee also nears. Just before meeting the finish line, let’s glance back at what our young philanthropists had taken part in throughout the school year.
Flashing all the way back to October, our members were pumped to kick the year off with the local YiP Conference – hosted annually to celebrate all the wonderful work Winnipeg’s YiPpers have done during the year, and to educate YiP newbies about what they can do during the following year.
Filled with inspiration from the conference, our St. James YiPpers said farewell to October with a meaningful Halloween night spent collecting food items for Winnipeg Harvest.
Then, came time for our annual grants to local NPOs (non-profit organizations) – supported by The Winnipeg Foundation with a fund of $5,164. So, for the next few months, our members ‘layed low’ in our classroom-based YiP office, working towards choosing organizations for our donations. We researched and looked up ones that sparked our interests, wrote letters to them and asked to visit their facility to learn more about the work they do.
February, our members went on site visits to their chosen NPOs and were able to learn hands-on the different types of support each was offering. We were fortunate enough to also have some organizations visit our ‘headquarters’ to educate us about themselves. Finally, after multiple discussions, we were able to decide on our grantees.
As a newly joined YiPper, I couldn’t be more pleased with the work we’ve done at St. James Collegiate to support local causes. And I’m sure returning members are just as satisfied.
I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to practice philanthropy with YiP this year and I can’t wait to see what more exciting things we’re up to next year. So, fellow philanthropists, pat yourself on the shoulder for the great work you’ve done, and ‘till next time!
Check out more Youth in Philanthropy stories on CNC at Young Winnipeggers Connect 2017.
