NEWS RELEASE
PICKERING COLLEGE
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A team of Pickering College students recently had the honour of calling Victim Services of York Region Inc. to inform them they would be receiving a donation of $2,000 from the school’s Grade 10 students, thanks to a win at a Global Leadership Program pitch competition.
The winning group, which included Grade 10 students Cecilia Lyu, Coco Lyu, Karena Zhu and Sarah Asgari, made a strong case for Victim Services of York Region Inc. that ultimately secured the donation.
“We saw their (Victim Services of York Region Inc.) efforts and we really want their project working,” says Karena Zhu on behalf of her group. “Human trafficking is a serious social issue in the 21st century. An innocent girl can be tricked by human traffickers easily. In order to prevent crimes and tragedies from happening, we should not only focus on the saving actions but also protecting ourselves and asking for help if it’s happening.”
Pickering College’s Global Leadership Program in Grade 10 focuses on the themes of social justice and culture. Students spend time in the Careers and Civics courses looking at the rights and responsibilities they have as citizens, and the ways they can take purposeful action in order to create social change. To bring this learning to life, the faculty team created an experiential and authentic project aimed at developing each student's ability to assess and support the needs of the community.
The PLACE (Partnering for Local Action and Community Engagement) Project asks students to work in groups to identify and collaborate with a local social justice organization, in order to advocate for and promote its vision and goals. This year, Pickering College Grade 10 students partnered with 18 local organizations and made their pitch presentations as to why “their” organization was deserving of a donation.
“It was such a pleasure meeting the Pickering College Grade 10 students who were not only interested in issues impacting their community but also felt so passionately about being part of social change. I’m extremely proud of the young ladies and have no doubt that they will change this world for the better,” says Gillian Freeman, Executive Director, Victim Services of York Region Inc. “The funds raised have been designated to go toward helping survivors of human trafficking. A common theme from the survivors of human trafficking is shock and dismay that ‘strangers’ would care about them when often they feel like the world has given up on them. Thank you to the students, staff and supporters of Pickering College for this extremely generous donation. Victim Services helped over 170 survivors last year alone. We would not be able to accomplish this without the help of caring community members like yourselves.”
The Newmarket Food Pantry, Rose of Sharon and York Support Services Network will each receive a $200 donation on behalf of the Grade 10 students whose pitches made it to the final.
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