TELUS Friendly Future Foundation Supporting Summerland Youth

The Boys and Girls Clubs of the Okanagan serve youth in many different communities in the valley, but this story comes from Summerland. The Summerland Asset Development Initiative (SADI) was a place where youth could go to connect with other youth and have a place where they could feel safe and welcome. Unfortunately they had to close their doors which left a gap in youth after school programs. We have been working with community partners, schools, municipality, and the District of Summerland to raise start-up funds to bring a program for youth back to the community of Summerland.

We were fortunate enough to have a grant application accepted by The TELUS Friendly Future Foundation. This grant worth $20,000 will be put towards re-opening a youth centre in Summerland and providing young people with the services and resources they are currently missing out on.

Our programs welcome all youth and at-risk youth including LGBTQ youth, Indigenous youth, youth in care, young people living in poverty, and youth who experience mental health barriers. These youth will have access to programming that includes physical recreation, social recreation, life-skills development, social and emotional skills development, pre-employment skills, mental health resiliency, youth leadership development, and digital skills literacy development.

Because of this generous grant from the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation, we can now start to develop our new program which will give young people access to safe and supportive recreation and development opportunities after school hours Monday-Friday. They will be healthy, active, and safe while engaging in recreational activities that help them confidence and connections to their peers and their community. Most importantly, they will develop new skills and achieve new goals in life. We would like to thank the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation for their support and their dedication to helping communities throughout the province and the country.

This project isn’t over quite yet and if you want to support the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Okanagan’s development of youth programs in Summerland, please reach out to [email protected]. Opportunities include program sponsorship, donating your time, and fundraising activities.