My goal is to implement a project to help Indigenous people who are struggling during the pandemic with hampers consisting of socks, toques, scarves, and mittens.
For this project I have partnered with two other people from a program called SIYS Corps where we received a grant of $1500 to use for a creative community-based project of our choice. The project of our selection is providing First Nations Youth hampers consisting of warm items such as sweaters, scarves, and hats for the upcoming winter.
A few challenges that we faced through the process of this project were Covid-19 restrictions. However, we counteracted this obstacle by communicating through online resources such as Zoom.
Working together as a team for this project provided me with the opportunity of witnessing communities coming together to achieve the same goal.
All my projects so far are from a large range of communities who were in need during the pandemic. In this project, I decided to help a community that may be overlooked in certain conditions. I chose to partner with OPTIONS, which is an organization I have collaborated with previously and, as a result, was in contact with. They proposed the idea of creating a hamper of essential items for First Nations youth. It was perfectly in-line with the requirements of a community-based project that SIYSCP required of its participants. I consequently jumped at the first opportunity to help out as it was my opportunity to give back to the community.
The first step of making the hampers was purchasing items. I decided to go to Dollarama to purchase the items as it provded me the abilty to purchase a large amount of items for a lower price. My group and I decided to split the $1500 in three so my budget was $496.66.
The next step was to ensure the items were left in an open area for a least a week as stated by Covid-19 protocols. After that the last step was to pack the items into ziplock bags and place a handmade card of well wishes before delivery day.
This project was a great opportunity for me to help a community of youth Indigenous peoples who require aid during the pandemic and winter time.
