HomeMy WebLinkAbout‘It’s a way of showing kids we believe they can go further’ - Ottawa South News - 04/17/2017 - Ottawa South News - 04/17/2017School has just let out and it's not long before the neighbourhood kids head for
the doors of the Banff Avenue Community House, a beacon of educational,
social, recreational and life -skill -building programming.
Mohamed Tom and Latifa Ibrahim are among the excited group. Today, the
students will be treated to nutritional slushies at a homework club offered at the
house.
Mohamed, 11, has dreams of one day becoming a trained photographer, while
at 10 -years -old Latifa already knows she wants to become a doctor.
That means college or university are in their future, and in the coming years
they'll find out there is a chance to receive a $1,000 bursary through the
house, which high school graduates can put toward the first year of their post-
secondary studies.
Charlotte Locke, a child and youth worker at the Banff Avenue Community
House in the Banff-Ledburyneighbourhood, stands outside the gathering
space with Mohamed Tom, 11, and Latifa Ibrahim, 10. The house is
promoting its annual bursary forlocal students heading off to their first yearat
college or university. Mohamed and Latifa, who attend the house's homework
clubs, already have their eye on post -secondary schooling with dreams of one
day becoming a photographer and doctor, respectively.
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"It's a way of showing kids we believe they can go further than Grade 12," said Gwendy Herring, senior program administrator
at the house. "So when we say to them, `You're going to apply for this money,' sometimes it'll be their first time that
somebody's said that to them."
Charlotte Locke, a child and youth worker at the house, is currently trying to get the word out about the program to local kids
in Grade 12 who are heading off to college or university in September.
They are invited to apply for one of two $1,000 bursaries that the not-for-profit house has awarded annually since the
program was founded in 2009 by former co -op -student and youth worker, Michael Swan.
He built up a solid base of $10,000 and since then the program has received donations from individuals and organizations
that have helped keep it going.
"It's been building. He definitely started us off on a good footing," said Herring.
"It's been pretty good that we've been able to do it that long," she said of the eight-year-old initiative. "It goes straight to
education."
The goal is to inspire kids. So far, so good.
Those who have received the bursary in past years have gone on to finish their higher education. It's designed to be
empowering, to demonstrate there are people in the community that are in their corner.
"It's more than just the money, it's getting them to think about post -secondary school," Herring said.
House staff have also been working with youth to show them how to apply for college or university and Ontario Student
Assistance Program funding. Locke recently held youth sessions at the house to teach teens different skills, including how to
navigate post -secondary websites.
Many kids from the Banff-Ledbury area are first generation Canadians or the first in their families to attend college or
university. That means the graduating students may not have a lot of help during what can be a stressful and daunting multi-
step application process.
"Any exposure we give them helps them," said Herring.
Locke said it can be overwhelming to juggle so many things at that age: post -secondary and OSAP applications, holding
down a job, managing school and homework, plus sports and other extracurricular activities.
"They don't have any free time," she said.
The info sessions she recently held that focused on these daunting next steps have helped.
"One girl who applied for college actually did it in our homework club," Locke recalled. "And she got into everything she
applied to. It's very exciting."
BURSARY DETAILS
Two bursaries are available to students entering their first year of college or university and who live within the immediate
Banff-Ledbury area or in the surrounding catchment area, which extends north to Kilborn Avenue, south to Hunt Club Road,
east to Conroy Road and west to Bank Street.
Applicants must have received confirmation of their acceptance into a post -secondary institution, as the bursary will be paid
directly to the school.
The deadline to apply is June 28 at 4 p.m. Recipients will be notified by July 31 and a ceremony will be held in August.
Bursary application forms are available at banffcommunityhouse.ca , or by calling the house at 613-739-5702.
Erin McCracken is a reporter/photographer with Metroland Media's Ottawa South News. She can be reached at
erin.mccracken@metroland.com. Follow her on Twitterand Facebook.
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