The City of Kelowna hopes to inspire youth through a grant

Photo: City of Kelowna

The City of Kelowna hopes to inspire youth to enhance their neighbourhoods through the Youth Development and Engagement Grant.

Past ideas inspired from the grant include a little free pantry at a local shelter, a garden box at a retirement home and an Evening of the Arts event.

A total of $1,000 is available through a matching grant for teens aged 13-19 who are seeking to improve the community.

“These projects have helped Kelowna youth gain valuable leadership experience while doing something meaningful for the community,” said Tanya Sletten, community development coordinator.

“It’s inspiring to see our local youth gather up some friends to work on a project that makes the neighbourhood an even better place to live and play. We’re excited to see some of the new projects that they dream up.”

A grant project that is still benefiting the community is 'Take Two', a project run by Rutland Senior Secondary students who took a shipping container and transformed it into a recycling enterprise.

“With passion, intention and perseverance, youth can take local action on global issues and become better leaders in shaping their future,” said Keneisha Charles, a recipient of a Youth Development & Engagement Grant.

“After two years of hard work and the generous help of the grant, we have proven this truth to ourselves and we’re excited to continue sharing this with our community.”

Those who want to apply for a Youth Development and Engagement Grant must do so by Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020.

For more information click here.