The Victoria Community Development Corporation
Youth Service Canada

COMMUNITY COOPERATION PROJECT

Youth Service Canada is a Federal Government program designed to give young people 18-24 work experience while being involved in the community. The Victoria YSC project provided 20 youth participants with 30 weeks of meaningful work experience which gave them transferable career related and social skills. The 20 youth were divided into four streams: (1)Community Heritage; (2) Community Living for Youth (3) Community Living for Seniors (4) Environment.
In groups of five youth, each team undertook projects that benefited the community.

Heritage Group

The Community Heritage Group worked on a community inventory and gathered information and stories from seniors that were compiled and printed as a book entitled Victoria, Recalling Our Heritage. 300 copies of the book was printed. The town's people, especially seniors who were interviewed, were very pleased with the thirty six stories in the book.

" The Germans Are Commin' " was the name of a play written by Mr. Roland Burke of Victoria and loaned to the youth participants to perform as a project to promote local heritage. The play was based around the Prisoner of War (POW)Camp that was constructed in Victoria in 1940's.
Response to the play was very positive, especially from the relatives of those men who originally worked on the camp. The play was performed in Victoria, Carbonear and Perry's Cove during July and August.

Community Living for Seniors

After conducting a Community Survey of Seniors needs, the YSC youth organized a variety of activities. A 50+ Club was started to help residents over 50 years of age stay in contact with their community; afternoon teas with live entertainment and Newfoundland music; distribution of a Health Information package for Seniors and organizing Health Awareness fair. With the support from the TC Square staff a Mall-Walkers Program was put in place by this team. A Horse Shoe Pitch was developed and put in place at the local recreation grounds.

Environment Group

A YSC team worked to enhancement and refurbishment of cultural landscapes including the restoration of wooden bridges across streams and brooks in and around the community. Repairs and cleanup of graveyards was also part of the activities of this group. Participants organized a very successful environmental awareness fair and took the message to schools in the town. This group continued with the work started on the Beaver Pond Trail, maintaining existing paths and making new routes around sensitive wildlife areas.

Community Living for Youth

As away of reaching out to the young people in Victoria the YSC Youth Team scheduled a day at each school (two Elementary and one High School) each week for several months. They were involved in school activities, helped with recreation and sport activities and acted as tutors, One of their most successful activities was a day long Teen Awareness Forum that focused on teen health, career and social issues. This group also helped the children, at both Bethel Academy and Persalvic Elementary, put off the play "The Royal Reader" at the schools Art Festival.

A Curriculum Enhancement Guide for Beaver Pond was put together and is being used by primary and elementary teachers to study the habitat of the creatures that live there.

As part of the Youth Service Canada program the participants engaged in an overall self- educational experience. Career planning was an essential part of their program development, at a very minimum, each participant upon completion of the YSC project, developed a career plan. They develop an up- to-date resume and have solicited letters of reference from individuals involved with their community service experience.

YSC participants were:
Correy Pike, Sheldon Burke, Lisa Slade, George Ash, Philip Frampton, Rosemary Antle, Tina Clarke, Nancy North, Cindy King, JoLynn Bragg, Susan Ralph, Laurie Martin, Danny Schwartz, Mark Noftall, Keith Mutrey, Scott Heath, Jeremy Slade, Tammy Parsons, Albert Dean, Tina Turnbull.

 

Community Garden Program

Youth Service Canada is a Federal Government program designed to give young people 18-24 work experience while being involved in the community. The Victoria YSC project provided 10 youth participants with 26 weeks of meaningful work experience which gave them transferable career related and social skills. The 10 youth completed agricultural projects within the community.

Youth Service Canada program is part of the Federal Governments Youth Employment Strategy developed to provide employment opportunities for young people. YSC aims to:

1. Help young people gain job skills and life experiences through hands-on community service experience.
2. Help participants acquire relevant work experience through community service projects designed to give them maximum learning and growth opportunities.
3. Build better and stronger communities by enabling young people to address issues of local concern.

In 1998 the Victoria Community Development Corporation (VCDC) received funding through Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) in Harbour Grace for a Youth Service Canada Community Garden Project. The VCDC sponsored this program in partnership with the Towns of Carbonear and Victoria. Ten youth worked for twenty-six from June 1998 to December 1998.

  

Involvement in this YSC program gave participants a chance to develop new skills and abilities and help their communities . The youth were involved in all aspects of root crop farming. This included preparing the soil, planting the seed, tending and watering plants, harvesting and preparing crops for market.

YSC youth helped those in need in their communities. The youth grew their own crops and helped out two local farmers with their crops in exchange for a share of the harvest. In October a Battle of the Bands concert was arranged by YSC. Students who attended brought along cash or a food donation as admission. All food grown or collected by YSC youth and cash donations, were given to local food banks.

An important part of the community Garden program was to increase the number of trees in public areas of Victoria and Carbonear. Participants planted trees such as pine, flowing crab. birch, maple, mountain ash and a variety of shrubs. In areas of rocky soil native spruce and fir were planted. These trees can be seen on the grounds of the Conception Bay North Civic Center, CIC High School, Recreation and Folk Festival areas and the Salvation Army Church in Carbonear. Similarly work was carried at Persalvic Elementary, Pentecostal and United Churches, Victoria Fire Hall, the Town Hall, Victoria Heritage Park, Lions Club , Recreation Field and the United Church Manse and the Pentecostal Parsonage in Victoria.

Planting shade trees was a very important public relations event for the project. Many citizens in both communities viewed the work of the youth and appreciated the results of their efforts.

Community Service

Youth Service Canada participants had many opportunities to get involved in their community. Through community service activities involving volunteer groups, each youth learned about the value of helping his/her neighbour.

- Each fall the Carbonear Lions Club has a Community Bonfire. YSC participants gathered leaves from around town , bagged and piled them in one location for burning on November 4th.

- Two years ago the Carbonear Cattlemen's Association cleared land for a new pasture. Unfortunately they are only a small group of volunteers and have not had the resources to pick off all the rocks since. YSC youth helped the cattlemen clear the rocks so that the land could be seeded for new grass.

- The perimeter of Persalvic Elementary and Carbonear Collegiate High School was growing over with brush. The brush was cleared from the front of each building and shade trees planted. The action of YSC youth was greatly appreciated by staff and students at each school.

- The Community Garden Program promoted the value of agriculture. At the Trinity Conception Fall Fair in September of 1998, participants set up an information display and distributed information to visitors about the YSC program and the value of agriculture to the area and province.

- Before the land was cultivated for the planting of vegetables in the Heritage Park the sods were cut off the area. The YSC participants rolled the sods and used them to sod the Shawn Snow Memorial Playground, the youth fertilized, watered, mowed and maintained the playground from July - October. Their hard work and careful maintenance of the area certainly turned it into a beautiful space for children to play. The YSC group also helped the town to erect the playground equipment.

Names;
Joey King, Daniel Clarke, Blair Baldwin, Adam Sturge, Jason Clarke, Michelle Dawe, Debbie Coles, Michael Dean, Darlene Foley, Brenden Summers.