NOTL Youth Collective in full swing this week

Nearly 20 young Niagara-on-the-Lake residents gathered at Cornerstone Community Church in Virgil last Wednesday for Fall Fest to kick off the 2024-2025 NOTL Youth Collective season.

The social event began with two cohorts gathered at different tables. Each worked on putting together their own food creations before digging into some snacks. 

Caroline Polgrabia told The Local that she and her fellow volunteers learned from last year’s fall session that there are very different needs for the two disparate groupings.

“The Grade 5 to 7 kids are looking for a bit of independence outside of the after-school program,” Polgrabia explained. “Once they get into Grade 8 there’s a whole other level of independence they’re looking for.”

The trick, Polgrabia said, is to find the sweet spot between drop-in programs and structured activities, between the development of life skills and social time.

“We’re looking at both cohorts and trying to determine the best way to move forward with that,” she said. “Especially with the younger group, they need a little bit of social, some hands-on activities, and a little bit of networking. They need a good combination of structure and freedom.”

With the teens, transportation issues still need to be ironed out. Polgrabia mentions Uber Teen, which lets young people aged 13-17 ride with the service as long as they have their parent or guardian's permission. Some prefer this option because of issues with the region’s On Demand transit system that serves NOTL.

Starting tonight (Monday, Oct. 21) it’s the return of the Survivor Game, modelled somewhat after the popular CBS Television program of the same name, without the 29 days on a remote island with very little food and shelter. Participants team up with friends to take on weekly challenges to gain points toward becoming the ultimate Survivor champion.

The regular Wednesday program, from  6:30 to 8 p.m., returns this week too. The collective plans to offer a variety of creative and health-focused programs on this day every week. Erinn Lockhard will be back to teach culinary skills and meal planning while Rachel Coffey will focus on mindfulness and mental well-being skills. 

The first few Wednesday sessions, though, will be part of a Careers in NOTL-style program where youth will learn about event planning, help to plan an event from layout design, volunteer coordination, onsite setup and display assembly and participate in event delivery. Their first task is a Halloween event scheduled for the end of the month.

Movie nights will be back, as will PD day activities. The volunteers are still in the process of planning the program for Tuesday evenings, as well.

As always, the Youth Collective runs on volunteer support. By nature, most of the volunteers in the past have been parents of youth involved in the collective. And once their children age out of the program, those volunteers often leave with them.

“Running it solely on parental volunteers is challenging,” said Polgrabia. “Most parents aren’t looking for something to add to their busy schedules. They want to find something that will relieve those schedules. We learned that right from the start.”

“It’s good for them to have other adult influences other than their parents,” continued Polgrabia, whose children Jayden and Kaitlyn both participate. “I like to hear about how my children behave with other people. This program is about that transition to being away from your parents.”

Another thing the organizers have learned is that it’s not always necessary for the collective to develop their own programs. Over the last two years they have connected with the NOTL Library, the Pumphouse Arts Centre, Yellow Door Theatre Group, the 809 Newark Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets and the local Girl Guides group in collaboration.

They have also been in discussions with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Niagara and Boys and Girls Club of Niagara, as well as with various local church groups. And the collective now works with the town’s Parks and Recreation department to offer certification training such as a babysitting course and first aid.

Add in the local sports organizations and Polgrabia envisions “amalgamating all that information into one place, a youth calendar that shows all the things that are happening for youth, where we can better fill the gaps that exist with our programs.”

Polgrabia invites others to get involved in the NOTL Youth Collective by reaching out for volunteer opportunities. You can can email [email protected]. For more information about the NOTL Youth Collective visit NOTLYouth.com and follow social at @NOTLYouth. Programming inquiries can be directed to Rachel Coffey (DeBon) at [email protected].