Youth collective needs volunteers to expand programming

The Niagara-on-the-Lake Youth Collective ended on a high note last month, with volunteers already thinking ahead to fall programs.

Caroline Polgrabia, organizer of the collective, says volunteers will take the summer to review programs, what went well and what didn’t, and are already beginning to plan for the fall.

They are moving forward knowing the kids who attend the collective want some free time to hang out with their friends, but also like some structure, such as the registered programming that was offered in the spring — but more of it.

The weekday after-school drop-in from 4 to 6 p.m. will continue, says Polgrabia, but volunteers hope to build on the popular community programs, such as the St. John Ambulance babysitting class, cooking classes, and the Big Brothers Big Sisters Go Girl sessions.

Also popular was Try It, which took groups of kids to places such as Grape Escape, F45 and the lawn bowling club; and Careers, taking youth to visit local businesses to learn about possibilities such as live theatre, aviation, agriculture and other opportunities for the future.

“Our biggest challenge at present is maintaining the daily, regular after-school drop-in, which is needed, while we build out the very popular community programs,” says Polgrabia.

“We just don’t have the supervision team to maintain both a daily drop-in program and continue to build and add registered community programs. Connecting the youth to the community is our core mandate, so we are hoping to build out the volunteer base to be able to grow all types of programming. This gives NOTL youth the greatest access to quality programming — when, what and how they want to experience and enjoy it.”

Organizers also hope to continue with a time specifically for older teens, one night a week as they did in the spring, giving them their own space, says Polgrabia.

But to offer all of that in the fall, the collective needs more volunteers to support those programs.

There is a core group of volunteers managing camp operations and program development, she says, “and they are doing a fantastic job, but we need more bodies to help us supervise the space and help maintain our required youth-to-supervisor ratios, or we will need to limit access to the  program come fall.”

There is a simple two-stage path to becoming an approved volunteer.

The first is an online application for those 18 and older, known to the existing campus staff or volunteers for more than two years, and able to provide three community references, at least one of them known or involved in the youth collective.

The volunteer application portal is open — visit ccchurch.churchcenter.com/people/forms/422417.

The youth collective team will be in touch in the near future regarding next steps, or to answer any questions regarding the program, Polgrabia says.

The next stage is training and police checks.

In order to protect both volunteers and youth, volunteers must participate in a two-hour Plan to Protect information session, which provides an overview of the roles as a supervisor, and how to keep both volunteers and youth safe during program hours. Costs for the police checks and Plan to Protect training session will be covered by the NOTL Youth Collective.

Polgrabia explains the collective needs help recruiting and finding additional volunteers “to help grow the program and continue to offer this safe and welcoming space for everyone.”

In order to make the training costs effective, they are hoping volunteers will consider at least six hours a month, with three shifts of two hours, to support program delivery.

Anyone who is available and interested in supporting NOTL youth can email [email protected].