Youth Initiative

Tuesday, 25 March 2014 06:45

The United Way is hoping to attract some young members while promoting community spirit.

WOODSTOCK -- The United Way of Oxford is trying to raise awareness about it's newly formed Youth Leadership Council.

The council's primary focus is to promote and strengthen emerging youth leaders in Oxford County.

One of its first orders of buinesses is to recognize local youth who have made a difference in their community. The council is hoping to find some of those examples locally through a nomination process for its first ever Youth Appreciation Awards.

"We just wanted to send out applications and have people nominated that are stellar in their community and do a lot for either school or just other things in their community so they got the recognition and hopefuly encourage them to keep doing so," says Woodstock Collegiate student Nicole Plant, who is also Chair of the United Way's Youth Leadership Council.

Another of the Youth Council's ideas is even more ambitious.

Dubbed "The Stranger Project -- Oxford Edition" the project is based on the work of a Vancouver's Colin Easton, who implemented his own Stranger Project in hopes of kyboshing the apparent reputation that Vancouver is not the friendliest of cities. Easton committed to meeting a stranger every day for a year, in attempt to make his community a warmer place. He began his journey on January 1st, 2014 and plans to continue for the following 365 days.

Easton's premise is simple -- he approaches a random person on the street and has a conversation with them about their lives, their hopes and their dreams. Each story is shared via social media, accompanied by a picture of Colin's "new friend." While some strangers continued walking and refused to speak with Colin, it appears that those whom he has a conversation with are grateful for the opportunity.

In a similar way, United Way Oxford's Community Conversations also allowed people to share their stories and speak freely about their hopes and dreams. After each conversation ended, many people thanked those involved for listening and shared that no one had asked about their hopes and dreams before.

For more information or to nominate someone for a Youth Appreciation Award go to: www.unitedwayoxford.ca