Monday, September 28, 2009

$8000 Grant for Youth Engagment!!!

The first Grant of $8000 was awarded to the island youth group for which The Compass Institute is merely the fiscal agent. The Compass Institute is to hold the money in deposit and report on the progress to the Government of NB Population Secretariat who sponsors the grant. The grant was originally meant to be administered by the St. Stephen's Boys and Girls Club to manage but they ultimately were not able to do so at the last minute. The sponsor scrambled to find a non-profit or charity on the island to fill the void and The Compass Institute was the only group that currently exists who me the criteria. The youth groups most recent meeting was held a meeting September 24th to which all students’ grades 7-12 were invited to attend. This youth group (all students, no adults) is now responsible for spending the $8000 grant that they applied for and received in the spring from the Province of New Brunswick Population Secretariat Youth Engagement Funding. With the guidance and support from Joyce Walker-Haley from the Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation, this group has developed a series of engagements sessions that require facilitation from experts. A request for proposals for these various experts will be published next week inviting individuals or groups to apply. The students on the youth group will then evaluate the applications and choose the most appropriate candidates to deliver the various programs. The Grant money will be used to pay to deliver these programs on Campobello Island over the coming weeks and months.

The Population Secretariat is encouraging us to apply for additional funding through their ongoing Youth Engagement Programs beginning this Fall. All students in grades 7-12 are invited to get involved in the process of applying for grants and in the decision making process for administering any funds that are awarded. Please contact Candi Phinney or Joyce Walker-Haley for more information on how to get involved.

Our sense of community building is at the core of our mandate and we believe in leveraging the power of one for the benefit of the collective good. Much like The International Friends Committee provided values-based programs and services that focus on the importance of caring, honesty, respect, responsibility and inclusiveness, so too will The Compass Institute.

We believe that our community should have access to the resources, supports and opportunities that will enable everyone to overcome barriers and achieve their positive potential in life. We are the only community in Canada whose citizens must travel an hour through another country and cross two borders to access the Canadian mainland.

We strive to empower the community to become increasingly self-reliant, to develop healthy lifestyles, a life-long passion for learning, leadership and focus on our own social responsibility; however, this requires a tremendous amount of support and effort from various levels.

We continually seek opportunities to explore potential within the community at large to expand their focus to create more self sufficient business opportunities which will benefit community growth and sustainability. We work together with families and volunteers in the community, in partnership with the public and private sector, to create healthy community solutions. Our concept of health focuses on the overall quality of life including - prevention, rehabilitation, self-management and the social support needed to grow in spirit, mind and body. In everything that we do, we try to inspire a sense of responsibility to each other and the global community.

The past year has been a fertile planning and information seeking year, planting the seeds of action that will be nurtured and cultivated in the months and years to come. Our agenda is specifically focusing on meaningful, long-term investment of both real and human capital targeted at sustainable growth in the broadest sense. Our vision is to restore the historic pride and hope of the community by unleashing the potential that once was and preparing to address challenges as they arise

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