Short Summary
The Teen Peer Helping program consists of nine volunteering teens and their leader Genevieve Cooper. It's run through the HOPE Centre at the Gathering Place, a non-profit organization that serves children, youth and families by supporting and strengthening the resiliency in their lives.
Along with videographer Brent O'Brien, the Teen Peer Helpers have put together a funny video to illustrate the enthusiasm and need for these projects.
The Impact
The Teen Peer Helpers' mission is to provide creative outlets for teens. This will enable them to combat boredom and have an alternative to social gatherings involving drugs and alcohol. We seek to inspire a sense of community and belonging, which will be accomplished in two parts. First, we will host several mixed-media art workshops presented by volunteering artists in partnership with the Gabriola Arts Council. Not only will the teens receive a vast inheritance of knowledge from the Isle of the Arts we call home, but they will foster positive relationships with adult role models and their peers. Second, we will provide an evening event for teens once a month. This will be complimentary to the weekend drop-in centre already running at the Gathering Place, but be aimed at attracting more teens by revolving around a popular activity. A movie night, yoga class, dominos competition and drug and alcohol free rave (a.k.a. The Safety Dance) are just a few of the ideas so far. We plan to let the ideas evolve with the teens' interests to keep the evenings exciting and engaging for all those attending.
What We Need & What You Get
Wouldn't it be great to support our youth, the prevention of drugs and alcohol abuse and the arts all at once while purchasing accessories that are hand-crafted especially for you? Make the world a little brighter with tie-dyed rainbow wares from the Isle of the Arts also known as Gabriola Island, B.C. If tie-dye just isn’t your thing, we also make leather feather earrings with sterling silver earring hooks.
All of the proceeds will go towards materials for the art workshops, supplies for the monthly teen activities and invested into future fundraising. For example, we could purchase concession items to sell during a family dance we will soon be hosting. Our goal is to keep all events free and available to every teen in our community, ensuring there is no financial divide. No wages will be paid with the money raised.
You can donate to us using PayPal with your Debit card or Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Discover card, even if don’t have a PayPal account.
Please note that the estimated delivery for North America is March 31, 2013 as standard mail take about 10 days; however, international standard mail can take 4-6 weeks, so the estimated delivery for anywhere outside of North America is May 31, 2013. If you would like your package posted express to you, we would be happy to do so if you simply send us the extra shipping charges. Please email Genevieve at wildcardcreationz@gmail.com so that we can let you know how much it will be. All shipping will include insurance so that if any parcels are lost in the mail, we will reship to you as soon as possible free of charge.
Other Ways You Can Help
You can help get the word out about our campaign on facebook, twitter and any social media of your liking. You can also use the Indiegogo sharing tools.
If you live on Gabriola or wouldn’t mind dropping in on our great island and want to find out other ways that you can help support the terrifically talented teens of Gabriola, please email Genevieve at wildcardcreationz@gmail.com.
Thank you for your time and support!