High hopes for Get Out
Vancouver Courier, 12/20/2004
by Sandra Thomas - Staff writer
The parks board and city council want Vancouver youth to Get Out!
The new joint initiative hopes to pry the city’s youth from behind their computers and video games and get them more involved in arts, culture and sports.
Coordinator Doug Ragan said the program started as the Olympic Youth Legacy, a commitment made by Mayor Larry Campbell, council and parks board to encourage youth to be more active, both physically and creatively, leading up to and beyond the 2010 Olympics. In organizing the program, Ragan and other coordinators asked local youth what they’d like to see included in the program. One of the first suggestions made was to change the name.
“We said, ‘'Hey what do you think of the name?’ And they said, ‘Hey how about if we change it?’” said Ragan. “Actually it was a 16-year-old girl who came up with Get Out! They thought it sounded edgier and that it fit better with the message to ‘Get out there.’”
Get Out! includes two grant programs dedicated to young people aged 12 to 24. Grants of up to $5,000 are available to youth with an idea for a community project, such as a creating a garden or painting a mural. Because it’s illegal for the city to give money to individuals, the youth must partner up with a registered non-profit, which will manage the money on their behalf.
“This smaller grant is very broad-based and allows youth to initiate their own projects,” said Ragan.
Larger grants of up to $10,000 are available to youth agencies, such as the YMCA, which are already involved with arts, culture or sports programs for young people. Ragan said grant applications are ongoing and should be approved by March.
The parks board, which already involves many youth in sports and recreation through community centres, is joining the effort by encouraging new projects and making existing programs more public. One of those programs is the new late-night skate at Killarney ice rink Saturday nights. Chillin’ On Ice lets kids aged 13 to 19 skate from 10:45 p.m. to 12:15 a.m. and enjoy a live DJ. Entry is $2 and skate rental is $1. The late-night skates are finished for this year, but resume Jan. 8.
Ragan said the late-night skate is a good example of the type of program they’re looking for because it was developed by youth involved with the Killarney Community Centre. The DJ is a high school student from Killarney and the Killarney youth council raises money by selling pop and chips and running raffles. It’s also catching on. In the four weeks since it started, the numbers attending have gone from 40 the first night to 140 last weekend.
“We’ve talked to youth and this is the kind of thing they want. They want to be out late but they need places to go,” said Ragan. “Plus, the skate has been really successful because it has all the bells and whistles, like a DJ.”
For more information go to www.heygetout.ca.
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