Youth collective season begins tonight with Fall Fest

Calling all youth! The Niagara-on Youth Collective begins a new season tonight, Oct. 16 at 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., with a Fall Fest event.

“It’s going to be a great start to a new season filled with fun, friends, and all the good vibes,” says collective founder Caroline Polgrabia in a recent news release announcing the fall sessions.

The collective is again holding its events at the NOTL Youth Campus in Cornerstone Community Church at 1570 Niagara Stone Road in Virgil, with tonight’s evening promising fun, games and challenges, awesome prizes and delicious snacks.

The volunteers of the NOTL Youth Collective have successfully run five seasons of programming, says Polgrabia, each session helping organizers learn more about what families are looking for, what works and what programs the youth enjoy.  The upcoming gall session is planned to follow the similar format as the last few sessions. 

The weekly program returns next week, scheduled on Monday and Wednesday evenings. There may be the occasional Tuesday program and social programs as well, says the news release. Families are encouraged to watch the social feeds and website for ongoing updates.

Mondays, the popular Survivor Game returns for a second season starting on Monday Oct 21 at 6:30 p.m. Join the game early and play often to earn individual and team points weekly to become the top Survivor. There will be weekly prizes winners and a Top Survivor award at the end of the session, to claim the $300 Amazon Gift Card Grant Prize.

The collective is working on the Tuesday program, and will announce any programming throughout the session.  “We want to take this moment to thank the Gatta family for their support and offer our support in return. Kekoo brought everything he had to our space last session and we are unbelievably grateful for his passion and commitment to our community.  Kekoo said, “When you invest in youth, you invest in the future. He embodied the essence of our program and we will miss him dearly. RIP Kekoo, you are missed,” says Polgrabia’s announcement of this season’s sessions.

Wednesdays, from  6:30 to 8 p.m., the collective plans to offer a variety of creative and health-focused programs like culinary skills, meal planning, healthy snacks, and mindfulness and mental wellbeing skills. This season's Wednesday session will start with 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. 

The NOTL Youth Collective will also once again offer social events, including movie nights and a PD day program.

Anyone in the community interested in learning more and getting involved, supporting and donating to the NOTL Youth Collective 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]