The Revelstoke Youth Access Fund has a holiday fundraiser this season! The Youth Access Fund was created in 2014 with the intentions of financially supporting opportunities for kids to participate in sports, arts and culture and recreation programs in our community. This program is designed to remove any financial barriers for kids from low to modest income families, so they too can partake in all the activities that happen in Revelstoke.
Meg Shandro from Community Connections and Leslie Hogg, from the Youth Liason Access Fund sat down with the Revelstoke Current to give the details of this great program.
Over the past three years, it has gained a lot of traction within the community. There has been a growth in referrals and in 2016, over 40 youth accessed the fund and over $7000 supported youth partake in our amazing programs for kids.
“We use this fund to support individual youth and families to participate; it could be paying for baseball fees, buying a ski helmet, helping out with transportation costs even paying for summer camp.” Megan Shandro from Community Connections informed the Revelstoke Current.
Leslie Hogg is from the Youth Access Fund, in partnership with Stoke Youth Network jumped in to add, “One of the great benefits is that it is not just specific to sports. There is a lot of federal and provincial funding opportunities for youth that come from low income families for sports; this fund supports the arts culture and recreations, it could be a ski helmet or a new paint set to take some art classes…all the money is going right back into the community to support local businesses or organizations that are providing youth programming.”
Kid Sport and Jump Start programs are not news to this community, these programs are helpful for those that could use some assistance, however, certain rules apply and applications can be bypassed for repeat applicants. The Youth Access Fund could be an option for those that have applied to those programs but were either denied or only provided a percentage of the original application amount.
The YAF does have a referral process in play in which Community Connections, Child Care Resource & Referral (CCRR), Ministry of Children & Family Development or School District #19 can all play a role in helping families access this great opportunity.
Historically, The YAF has been funded by Columbia Basin Trust (CBT), Revelstoke Credit Union (RCU) and the Revelstoke Community Foundation (RCF) who hold the funding, with more awareness over the past few years, the funds raised are dispersed rather quickly.
A fundraiser is currently underway for the YAF. You can purchase an ornament off of the Christmas tree at the Community Centre for $5.00- $250.00, depending on what your budget is. A tax receipt will be issued for any purchase/donation over the $50.00 price point.
This program is a great way to ensure that every child has an opportunity to partake in the hobbies and youth activities that they love!
For more information contact Megan Shandro at Community Connections at 250-837-2920 (Ext. 25) or the Youth Liason via the Stoke Youth Network by emailing info@stokeyouthnetwork.ca
