Ontario Trillium Foundation news release follows:
Leadership Thunder Bay and the Thunder Bay Indian Friendship Centre today announced a long-term sustainable Aboriginal Youth Leadership program.
Made possible with a three-year $98,000 investment from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF), the initiative will focus on Aboriginal youth aged 18 to 29 in Thunder Bay and will feature a curriculum based on Aboriginal traditions and values.
This innovative and empowering program will take the community’s emerging Aboriginal youth leaders on a voyage of discovery in which they learn both how to build their leadership skills as well as to gain a broader understanding of the critical issues affecting their community.
“I am delighted that through our government’s Ontario Trillium Foundation we are supporting the continued development and long -term sustainability of the Aboriginal Youth Leadership Program. This important program builds leadership skills in our Aboriginal youth, helping them to become future leaders in their communities.”
- Michael Gravelle, MPP for Thunder Bay-Superior North
“Volunteer-based organizations like Leadership Thunder Bay help create the social fabric of our communities. I’m pleased that our government, through the Ontario Trillium Foundation, is able to support this innovative program which benefits participants - and the greater community as well - by building skills and developing awareness for leadership opportunities. Congratulations to Leadership Thunder Bay today as we celebrate this funding which will support continued development of the Aboriginal Youth Leadership Program.”
- Bill Mauro, MPP for Thunder Bay-Atikokan
A year ago, with funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation and the support of the Urban Aboriginal Strategy, Leadership Thunder Bay was proud to launch a very innovative pilot project – the first ever Aboriginal Youth Leadership Program. From every perspective, the pilot project was a great success and now here we are today to kick off the next round of a three-year Aboriginal Youth Leadership Program, again with the support of Trillium and this time with the support of the Thunder Bay Indian Friendship Centre. We are excited about the tremendous potential of this program and what it can mean to our Aboriginal youth. On behalf of the Board of Directors of Leadership Thunder Bay it gives me great pleasure to wish the students of the Aboriginal Youth Leadership program great success in the program and in the years ahead.
- Kelly Fettes, President, Leadership Thunder Bay
The Aboriginal Youth Leadership Program is being implemented based on the Leadership Thunder Bay model within the framework of the seven grandfather teachings as well as the teachings of the medicine wheel, contributing to participants’ cultural, spiritual, mental, physical and emotional wellbeing. This unique community leadership initiative will provide Aboriginal Citizens with the stepping stones required to build skills and gain the knowledge needed to realize their respective goals and dreams. "It’s important that through a collaborative effort we collectively can be a leader in the development of a program that meets the needs of Aboriginal Youth.”
- John DeGiacomo, Executive Director of Anishinabek Employment and Training Services and Co-Chair of the Aboriginal Youth Leadership Program Steering Committee.
“On behalf of the Thunder Bay Indian Friendship Centre, I am extremely pleased to be working in partnership with Leadership Thunder Bay to provide this unique approach to Aboriginal youth to develop our future leaders. By creating this opportunity and by working collaboratively, our young people have every opportunity to participate fully in their own community and contribute to the broader society. Aboriginal youth can further their own aspirations and work towards a vision of personal success…a vision that empowers youth to lead. They are the foundation to our future.”
- Charlene Baglien, Executive Director, Thunder Bay Indian Friendship Centre
Leadership Thunder Bay is much more than a typical leadership skills development program. Innovative, engaging and empowering, the program takes participants from all walks of life on a voyage of discovery in which they build their leadership skills while gaining a broader understanding of the critical issues affecting our community. For more information about Leadership Thunder Bay, visit www.leadershiptb.com.
The Thunder Bay Indian Friendship Centre is an Aboriginal non-profit charitable organization providing programs and services since 1964 in the City of Thunder Bay. The Friendship Centre provides services to all ages of the life cycle and offers a wide-range of community based programs in the areas of health and wellness, justice, family support, children and youth initiatives, education, employment, skills development and training. The Centre delivers twenty different programs that are culturally appropriate, incorporate traditional healing, cultural practices and cultural integration. The Friendship Centre is an agency dedicated to developing a sense of Native community with opportunities for involvement and control by community members in addressing the issues that affect their lives. www.tbifc.ca
A leading grant maker in Canada, the Ontario Trillium Foundation strengthens the capacity of the voluntary sector through investments in community-based initiatives. An agency of the Government of Ontario, OTF builds healthy and vibrant communities. For more information about the Foundation, visit www.otf.ca
