Columbia Basin Trust is pleased to announce the first communities participating in its new Community Directed Youth Funds program. The youth aims to support services for youth ages 12-19 by providing each area with $100,000 over four years to increase activities, opportunities and services for youth. The program will be available to the remaining Basin communities over the next two years.
“We are very excited to be putting funds in the hands of communities to benefit youth in their specific regions,” said Wayne Lundeberg, Columbia Basin Trust’s director of youth initiatives. “These first communities demonstrated a readiness to come together in a collaborative manner to set priorities, address issues in their regions and enhance activities and services for their youth.”
Six pilot communities and their surrounding areas that begin the program this winter are: Revelstoke, Golden, New Denver/Silverton, Salmo/Ymir, Crawford Bay/Riondel, and Montrose/Fruitvale/Beaver Valley.
“Our community is incredibly excited by the opportunity to enhance our youth services,” said Daniel Seguin from the Crawford Bay and Riondel area. “We look forward to working together and with the Trust, to find the common ground on which consensus can be built as to where to direct the funding. It’s definitely an inspiring time on the East Shore.”
The program is intended to bring added value and provide resources to communities that show the desire and ability to work together to identify and address issues in their youth communities.
“Both youth and adults in the community have been talking about addressing the gaps in the youth services and opportunities for years,” said Monica De, Golden and area. “Since youth program funding became available, there is finally a flexible funding opportunity to help address the needs of youth in Basin communities.”
Another four communities who submitted successful expressions of interest will begin the program in the spring of 2012. They are: Nelson/Harrop/Procter, Trail/Warfield, Rossland and Kimberley.
The next deadlines for Expression of Interests from communities are March 16 and October 31. Guidelines and applications are available at cbt.org/youth. For more information please call Wayne Lundeberg at 250-304-1625 or email cdyf@cbt.org with “subscribe to CDYF info” in the subject line to receive program updates.
The Columbia Basin Trust works with youth and communities to increase youth opportunities and engagement through enhancing capacity, leadership and participation. In addition to this new program, the Trust also funds youth developed projects through the Columbia Basin Youth Grants program and provides a forum for youth in the Columbia Basin to share their art, ideas and experiences with each other through SCRATCH magazine and scratchonline.ca.
The Columbia Basin Trust delivers economic, social and environmental benefits to the residents of the Columbia Basin. To learn more about the Columbia Basin Trust programs and initiatives, visit cbt.org or call 1-800-505-8998.