Youth committee making a difference

Brittany Pye knows that inactivity in youth is increasing, and she’d like to do something to change that.
That’s one of the reasons she chose to get involved with the Pictou County Wellness Centre Youth Committee. She believes that the Wellness Centre will be a factor in turning around that trend for young people in the area, and she wants to get as many young people using the facility as possible.
“I think the more youth who are involved in planning, the more likely youth are to use the Wellness Centre,” says the Grade 12 Northumberland Regional High School student.
She joined the committee because she thinks the Wellness Centre will be a great asset to the community. “Being involved seemed like a great way to help it along.”
The group was established to include young people in the fundraising campaign and promotion of the Wellness Centre, which is expected to open late this year.
“We wanted to engage some of the great youth in our community,” says Nicole LeBlanc, communications and fundraising manager for the Wellness Centre. “We often see negative stuff about youth (in the media), and we wanted to harness positive things, and get in touch with different groups of people using the facility. This is another group to engage, to get ideas and tap into what they’re good at.”
Holly Mathias and Chad Sutherland are NRHS students who are members of the youth committee with Pye.
“It’s a really great project – something the community will benefit from for a very long time,” says Mathias.
“There’s an emphasis on what we want to see. It’s important to know we have that voice, and it’s important to use it to our full advantage. It’s great if youth can get involved in the community. You don’t have to wait for an opportunity – you can create one yourself.”
Sutherland says the youth committee brings energy and different viewpoints to the campaign team. “I think that the most important thing about youth being involved is it shows other youth they can get involved and play a role in the community and make a difference in the world around them,” he says.
Youth committee chairperson Mike Roper, who works with the Pictou Regional Development Agency, says the young people offer unique perspectives to the team, which is largely made up of middle-aged business people. “They can draw people in we would have no access to.”
The youth committee meets twice a month, and is made up of 10 members representing all three Pictou County high schools. The committee is comprised of several sub-committees, including social media, events, video and merchandise.
Since its establishment, the social media committee has boosted the number of “likes” on Facebook, and the merchandise committee provided input with selecting items that promote active lifestyles such as Frisbees and buttons for the Community Campaign launch in September.
Pye and Sutherland were both involved with the Community Campaign launch held at the deCoste Entertainment Centre.
Mathias chairs the event sub-committee, which sold Crushers tickets at the Highland Square Mall. She was also involved with the Shoot to Win Legacy promotion held recently at a Weeks Junior A Crushers game. She believes the Wellness Centre will help attract and keep more young people in the area.
Sutherland recently assisted with setting up a Wellness Centre display booth during the school’s Health Education Week to educate students about the services available at the centre and why they should participate in activities there. “We’re forging a partnership, promoting the Wellness Centre in our school,” he says, adding that it’s also “nice to get out and represent the centre within our community.”
All three students are heavily involved with other activities. Pye coaches soccer and Special Olympics curling and is a member of the United Way of Pictou County board of directors as well as the Community Health Board. She’s also the treasurer for the service-based club Rotary Interact, and co-head of the school’s Girls Leadership group as well as USSR, a group consisting of Students Against Drunk Driving, SmartRisk and RespectED.
Mathias teaches Sunday School, is on the board of directors for the deCoste Centre, plays soccer and rugby, and is a students’ council representative. She also runs the anti-bullying program at NRHS, making presentations at local elementary and middle schools, and is the secretary for the Rotary Interact club. Recently she also participated in the Halifax International Security Forum with Central Nova MP and Defence Minister Peter MacKay.
Sutherland is co-president of the school’s students’ council, a member of the Rotary Interact and graduation committee, and plays soccer and hockey.
LeBlanc says because of their involvement with Rotary Interact at NRHS, a presentation was made to the group regarding the Take A Seat legacy campaign. The club then purchased two seats. “It was great for them to take the initiative and want more information. They’re interested and engaged in wanting to know what’s going on in the community. They wanted to see how they could help out,” she says.
“This group of kids we have are fantastic kids – between school, playing sports, and student council – they’re doing great things. So it’s great for us to have them involved,” says LeBlanc.
The youth committee members are anxiously looking forward to the completion of the Wellness Centre.
“I’m really excited for when it opens and what it’s going to offer the community,” says Sutherland.

Carol Dunn is a freelance writer from New Glasgow.