Donating clothes, building a community gym, working as an outreach counsellor, volunteering at a women's shelter: Learning to appreciate these and other community-changing activities are the crux of the international Youth and Philanthropic Initiative (YPI) which ran for the first time in Squamish at Howe Sound Secondary School (HSSS) during the 2010-'11 school year.
Each year thousands of secondary school students participate in the YPI, designed to encourage youth to research social issues and advocate on behalf of a local grassroots charity.
HSSS Grade 10 students took time off from their own lives to rally for the good of Squamish charities and on Friday (June 3), the moving presentation of three participants won $5,000 for their charity of choice - the Sexual Abuse Intervention Program (SAIP).
Teal Imbeau, Teri-Rose Davis and Rryla McIntosh delivered a heart-wrenching presentation, including a music video by Martina McBride, about a young girl abused and killed by her mother. The presentation touched everyone in the room.
Administered through Sea to Sky Community Services, SAIP provides individual counselling and/or group therapy to children between four and 18 years old who have experienced sexual abuse or are suspected of having experienced sexual abuse or assault.
Before the YPI, Imbeau, Davis and McIntosh said they knew little about SAIP but stumbled across the program when researching local charities to represent.
"We didn't actually know the program existed," Davis said. "It's a pretty heart-wrenching topic but very important at the same time, so we decided it should be our charity. We put a lot of effort and research into the program because we knew it was worth it."
Davis said she has had friends who were sexually abused, so the importance of such a program really resonates with her.
"It happens to one in four girls before they turn 18," she added.
Imbeau said it was a big decision to take SAIP on because the program deals with serious situations that can't be taken lightly.
"This program can make a huge difference in a person's life and it lacks funding," she said.
The SAIP presentation was one of six chosen to compete in the finals on Friday. Groups of students representing Crime Stoppers, Helping Hands Society, the Youth Resource Centre, the Squamish Community Foundation and the Howe Sound Women's Centre put their best efforts forward to encourage the judges to determine their cause the most worthwhile.
Judges included YPI Canada representative Gina Mackay, who said the presentations were amazing, especially for a school's first year of participation.
"I was so impressed they were all advocating for such local charities," she said. "It looks like they all became very passionate about the different social issues."
HSSS teachers Christine Fitzpatrick and Carolyn MacDougall decided their Grade 10 students should take part after they found out about the program and are delighted with the results.
MacDougall said some of the students were "apprehensive at the start but after getting good vibes from the charities about their importance, the students became a lot more involved."
"The charities had to be local, grassroots and registered with the government authority but there are so many amazing organizations here in town there was plenty of choice," she said.
"It's a great program that aims to develop community leaders."
