Apr. 09, 2017
Samuel W. Shaw Grade 9 students Makenzie T., Aoibhin B., Josie W. and Brody L. were thrilled when their moving story about Makenzie’s younger brother ended up winning over the judges and the $5,000 grant for the Epilepsy Association of Calgary.
The Youth Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) promotes community awareness by giving students the opportunity to discover, know and volunteer with local, grassroots charities. Students choose charities that address issues near and dear to them. After visiting the charity, the students create a ten-minute presentation in an effort to win a $5,000 grant for their charity. The grant this year was generously donated by the Werklund Foundation.
Spearheaded by Grade 9 teacher Robyn Carr, students at Samuel W. Shaw School saw the culmination of over a month of dedicated work come together with presentations on Wednesday, March 22.
Five groups were selected to move on to the YPI school finals. Their charities were:
- Calgary Pregnancy Care Centre
- Breast Cancer Supportive Care Foundation
- Students Against Drinking & Driving
- Asperger’s and Autism Friendship Society
- Epilepsy Association of Calgary
The Werklund Foundation was so impressed by the hard work, dedication and presentations of all five groups they surprised everyone by donating $1,000 to the other four runners-up.
The Youth Philanthropy Initiative continues to be a staple at Samuel W. Shaw School, and after the success of this year’s YPI presentations, we can’t wait to see next year’s!
