Admittedly, this odyssey you’re about to embark on may be longer than most of YAA’s blog posts, but I believe it’s worth your time, if only because it features not me, but Harrison Hart, a ConocoPhillips Youth of Distinction Awards (YODA) finalist for sportsmanship. Harrison, who is a Grade 11 student at Strathcona-Tweedsmuir, having just…
Shruthi Bandi, a Grade 8 student competing in the A.P.E.I. national science fair, won gold for her work in antibiotics. Through her research, she has discovered that not all bacteria are as menacing as they seem. In fact, Bandi has found that some micro-organisms can be used to defeat two common infections. One of her…
Are you 18 years or below? Do you like to have fun? Do you love shopping, hanging around with friends, doing cool things around the city? If yes, you should know, Youth Week 2014 is underway from Apr 20-27! Show an ID proof and get awesome deals. Here are the details about how you can…
For Sara Abdelrahim, Calgary was a vast, abstract idea of a community, not one that she actually participated in. This all changed when she joined the Immigrant Service’s Youth Volunteer Program back in February 2012. Since then Sara has accumulated well over 300 volunteer hours, and with her enthusiastic disposition and willingness to help and…
To put it simply, we are all about youth. Us youth come in many different personalities and beliefs; each of us are a part of different cultural and religious groups and have developed our own values. That being said, these differences are not always respected. Take sexual and gender minority youth as our featured group;…
At age 17, Zahra is one of the most involved volunteers within our community. Not only does she volunteer with her high school on a regular basis, she also assists with an after-school girl’s group, where she helps empower girls at a young age. Zahra inspires to delve into the field of sciences this fall.…
Jenny Lin is a Grade 10 student at Sir Winston Churchill High School who was recognized by Kids Up Front and Youth Central as a part of the Pay it Forward project, recognizing youth for their “pay it forward” attitude. She was recognized for her outstanding contribution to the Youth Volunteer Corps (YVC) project at…
16-year-old Grace Chan has been an active youth volunteer at Immigrant Services Calgary’s Youth Volunteer Program for nearly two years. She has been recognized by Kids up Front and Youth Central as a part of the Pay it Forward project for her dedicated exceptional volunteer work. Grace has volunteered numerous times at various non-profits organizations and has assisted…
Cason Crane is a humble, down to earth, generous, courageous, determined, and driven human being brought up in New Jersey and was the first LGBTQ person to climb the seven summits of the world. At such a young age, to me he stands not only as an inspiration for the LGBTQ community but also a symbolic representation of change. I…
YAA bloggers Wentao and Rebecca sit with Paula Ngo to discuss her volunteering journey with Youth Central.
Jessie Weisner is a Grade 11 student at Lester B. Pearson High School, and she was nominated as an outstanding and proactive teenager and was recognized by Kids Up Front and Youth Central’s Pay it Forward project. Jessie has volunteered 125+ hours with the Kids Cancer Care‘s Teen Leadership Program, and puts KCC first, even with her…
What is the value of youth? It’s a lively and productive period in our lives. What do people miss about this period? What advice do older people have for youth? Through this collection of blog posts, I hope to build a unique bond between people living through two very different yet special seasons of life.…
This is a guest post from YMCA Calgary. Do you know someone in your community who has done amazing work? Nominate them for a YMCA Peace Medal! We have seen a great deal of generosity, compassion and kindness since this year’s Southern Alberta Flood Emergency. A YMCA Peace Medal nomination is a great way to…
As the cliché goes, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure; but to share something you love with strangers around the world takes a whole new level of courage, altruism, and passion. Recently on Tumblr, I came across a project called Spread the Words Project started by April, an 18-year-old girl. Motivated by her love…
“Volunteer and you get to record these for CAS hours!” or “Volunteer and you get to put it on your resume.” or even worse, “Volunteer because you get free food!” All these offers make ‘volunteering’ sound like a deal of some kind! But volunteering is a simple act of going an extra mile and thinking about…