Blog

Hello hello! Hope everyone is doing very well :) 

Why is it important to support, encourage and believe in youth? Well, the main reason because they are our future and if we are looking to change and/or improve certain situations both now and down the road, we should remember our youth.

I’ve had the opportunity to meet youth and youth leaders in northern Ontario, here in the Greater Toronto Area, back home in Saskatchewan and all along my travels everywhere (cue Littlest Hobo theme song “Maybe tomorrow, I’ll wanna settle down…”). I’ve come to understand how important the simple things in life can be, such as listening to someone, encouraging another person and letting someone know that you believe in them, especially when it comes to engaging youth. I’ve also had the opportunity to work alongside and learn from some amazing people who truly understand how to help youth in an empowering and sincere way. I’ve realized the value of asking youth their input, feedback and ideas when it comes to something that has an impact on their life. Youth are quite aware of the many approaches and answers that can help them in their life, sometimes all it takes is a moment to ask them. It was refreshing to hear certain perspectives on life from some of my experiences with youth and youth leaders; one was the take on the word “Impossible”, he said “Impossible can also be I’m possible” which showed me the positive outlook that youth leader carried.

There’s an approach I try to take when it comes to engaging First Nations youth, and that is through the sharing circle, eagle feather and smudging medicines. For those of you who may be unaware of what these are, I’ll try and sum it up in a few sentences in a respectful way. The sharing circle gives everyone in the circle the opportunity to share whatever they feel they would like to, sometimes it is done in a structured way where a topic is set and those in the circle speak on that topic. The eagle feather is passed from one person to the next and whoever holds the eagle feather is the one who speaks. The medicines we usually use are: sage, sweetgrass, cedar and tobacco. These medicines would be burned and each person would smudge themselves before the circle begins. Smudging with the smoke of these medicines helps cleanse our thoughts, our energy, our intentions, our attitude so that when we speak we are able to speak in a truthful and respectful way. The beautiful thing about this approach is those in the circle feel free to speak from a human level and have the opportunity to voice their ideas, hopes, insights and life experiences.

There are a couple projects here on Small Change Fund that are geared towards having a direct impact on youth in various communities across the country, if you are able to contribute to these projects I would highly recommend it. Our youth, all across the country, deserve our help and support as they strive towards improving their living conditions so they may grow in a way that will help our collective future and the generations to come. 

Got a question for me?  Leave a comment below, or e-mail info@smallchangefund.org

-Brad