The United Way Hastings and Prince Edward’s one-day “Youth2Youth” summit will bring kids from the region together to inspire them.
“We’re hoping to inspire them with the workshops we have going on to start to think about the changes they want to see and then start thinking about ways they can make that change,” explains Youth2 Project Coordinator Melissa Wyatt
United Way and North Hastings Children’s Services are coordinating a bus to take kids from North Hastings to the event in Deseronto.
From 9 AM until 3:30, there will be eight different workshops with the youth being allowed to choose three to attend. There will also be a recess period where Wyatt says kids can play, among other things, bubble soccer. The keynote speaker is Phil Kerr, who is a cancer survivor and champion adaptive sports expert. He’s going to talk to the youth about overcoming adversities and taking action. Wyatt explains the workshops will allow kids to network and learn skills that they can take back to their communities and make positive changes.
“Based on the conversations that took place with over 150 youth at the 2017 summit,” the United Way says about the event. “We will be providing youth with an experience that they can learn from and build skills in to apply to their personal lives and elsewhere in our community.”
Wyatt says these youth and the others in our communities are tomorrow’s leaders so it’s critical that we listen to them and their ideas.