Thorndale youth club together to open up a dedicated youth space with help from RBC Funding
Thorndale youth club together to open up a dedicated youth space with help from RBC Funding
With funding from the RBC Future Launch Community Challenge, I Love Thorndale was able to open up a dedicated youth space last year, providing young people in Thorndale with a safe place to meet.
The youth clubhouse, whose ongoing funding is provided by sponsorship from local businesses and residents as well as small subsidies from attendees, provides collaborative and educational programming that aids the social development of the local youth in a setting that allows them to feel safe and have fun.
Arden, a youth leader at the clubhouse, is pleased that the space doubles as a community hub providing support services to the community in Thorndale, and thinks it’ll lead to more involvement for youth within the community. “Community members of the Thorndale area have really shown their dedication to work together and shown their commitment to each other and the well-being of all of its members (including youth), which can also be considered the future of the town's population,” says Arden.
The project was largely driven by Emma, Elijah, Ethan and Ryder, young people in the community who, through being given the chance to have their voices heard, showed other youths and adults in the community the significant impact young people can have on their community when given independence and respect.
Even during times when COVID-19 restrictions stopped in-person meetings, the youth leaders who volunteer on the project worked to promote the clubhouse by running physically distant activities and virtual programming, while spreading the word about the clubhouse to their peers. All this contributed to well over 500 volunteer hours being put into the project by the time in-person activities were allowed to take place in July last year.
London Community Foundation joined the RBC Future Launch Community Challenge in July 2019, making grants available to youth-led projects that address diverse and urgent local priorities. The grants enabled youth from Thorndale, Strathroy, Oneida Nation of the Thames, Chippewas of the Thames First Nation, and Munsee-Delaware Nation to lead, learn new skills, gain experience, and build relationships in their local communities – all things that will help them prepare for the future of work.
For more information on current grant opportunities with London Community Foundation, visit our Grants & Awards page, and get all the latest information about our grants, awards and loans by signing up to our mailing list.
