Bringing together youth-led organizations in Peel Region through Regional Youth Roundtable
MISSISSAUGA, ON – ACCESS is pleased to be supporting the Regional Youth Roundtable, a grassroots initiative bringing together youth-led organizations, alleviating pressures facing minority groups, sharing experiences and advice, and collectively taking action on issues in the community. The Regional Youth Roundtable (RYR) is funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation's Youth Opportunities Fund with the Organizational Mentorship of ACCESS.
Formally launched in Fall 2014, the the group hopes to offer support towards all youth-led organizations in Peel Region, helping them grow and reach their full potential thanks to collaboration, events and community consultations.
ACCESS is providing the RYR team with organizational development and ongoing mentorship, supporting the young leaders in creating change in their community.
Daniel Francavilla, who founded ACCESS in 2006 as a high school student, is pleased to be supporting the initiative:
"Connecting the Peel non-profit community has always been a goal for ACCESS, where we have promoted collaboration over competition. ACCESS is proud to support the Regional Youth Roundtable in uniting the region's many youth-led organizations. It is an honour to be working with such dedicated, talented youth, working towards key issues affecting youth in the community."
The RYR Team was thrilled to have hosted a successful launch event at Mississauga City Hall's C Cafe on September 20, where over 30 executive members of youth-led organizations across Peel Region came together to celebrate the launch of RYR.
Emilia Nowicki, Communications Officer of RYR was very moved by the turnout:
Seeing so many passionate members from different organizations come together and find their common interest in simply wanting to help others and make a change in the world was so inspiring. It made our team believe that the Roundtable is on the right path towards improving our community, and that this is only the beginning.
Trevor Sookraj, a high-school student from Mississauga, is the Founder and Executive Director of the Regional Youth Roundtable and is excited to see his concept coming to life:
It started as an idea and now it's a reality. The support over the past few months has been incredible. The dynamics of having so many organizations in the same room was incredible for the launch, and we can only expect more from our Roundtable meetings with a solid focus.
The Regional Youth Roundtable team has begun work on planning and executing their goals for the 2014-2015 year. The team hopes to create strong relationships among their member organizations, helping to increase their members' awareness and outreach. The RYR hopes to serve as a platform for the sharing of best practices and useful resources, networking, and representing leadership initiatives and activities in Peel Region.
The organization will also help to raise awareness about several issues concerning youth through different media campaigns, consultations, and events. Groups such as LGBTQ+ youth, disabled youth, and newcomer youth have been identified by RYR and the Youth Opportunities Fund as a focus. Member organizations will meet once a month with the Roundtable Team to discuss goals, aspirations, and future plans, based on their collaborative efforts.
The Regional Youth Roundtable is providing youth of Peel Region with a brand-new perspective on how to make a difference in the community, through working together. The RYR hopes to prove that although the region's many initiatives are valuable individually, they can grow to become significantly stronger and drive greater change by collaborating and inspiring one another.
For more about the program, visit YouthRoundtable.ca, and connect on Twitter and Facebook.
Media Inquires Emilia Nowicki | Communications Officer, Regional Youth Roundtable | peelcomm@youthroundtable.ca Daniel Francavilla | Founder and Executive Director, ACCESS | daniel@accesscharity.ca