It was a banner year for the W.C. Miller Collegiate Youth in Philanthropy (YIP) group, which partners with the Altona Community Foundation (ACF) to fundraise and distribute grants to local charities.
Donations collected at student-led events are matched by the foundation each spring. The kids then have the opportunity to sort through applications and decide how those funds will be gifted out.
“This year we will be distributing $6,000 to nine community groups,” shared Jacob Friesen-Stoesz, Gr. 12 student council chair, at the grant distribution event June 4. “This happens to be one of the largest sums of money we’ve given out to date.”
The YIP group raised those funds through a community movie night, a concession stand at the school’s musical production of Annie, and selling candygrams, chocolates, and roses for Christmas and Valentine’s Day.
New to the fundraising lineup this year was the Altona Aces alumni hockey night in March, which YIP members planned and ran. The current Aces team took on the 2018 in an evening celebration that also raised funds through various prize raffles.
“It’s so good to see students getting involved in helping the community and take initiative in their school,” Friesen-Stoesz said. “I also believe this is a great learning opportunity for students and a way to say thank you to the community organizations for making our town special.”
Friesen-Stoesz thanked everyone who came out to support YIP’s fundraising campaign.
“We want to thank our school and the larger community for their support of our various fundraising events over the past year,” he said. “We look forward to seeing what might be possible next year as we continue to find ways to improve our community.”
Receiving the 2026 grants were:
• Kiddie Sunshine Centre, $500 to help bring in special educational presenters for the kids and to complete renovations to their playground.
• Genesis House, $700 to purchase more culturally-inclusive educational toys, books, and activities for children staying at the regional shelter for the survivors of domestic violence.
• Altona Area Family Resource Centre, $500 to cover the cost of renting the local pool for an accessible family event this summer.
• Katie Cares/Katie’s Cottage, $400, to purchase Beanie Babies to provide comfort to children receiving medical care.
• West Park School, $700 to buy new equipment for students to use outdoors during recess, including hockey and volleyball nets, balls, and renewing the painted lines for outdoor games such as four-square.
• Youth for Christ, $700 to purchase an outdoor griddle that can be used at The Station on drop-in nights and other special events for youth in the community.
• South Central Regional Library, $700 to purchase tote bags that will be used as part of the crafts and programming events hosted over the summer for youth and children.
• Blue Sky Opportunities, $700 to purchase of a manual hydraulic lift to provide a safe way to move day program participants who have reduced mobility.
• Altona & District Heritage Research Centre, $700 to purchase the necessary supplies for preserving paper documents and photos, such as acid free file folders and storage boxes.
This grant is an extension of the partnership the heritage research centre already has with W.C. Miller, noted Dave Harms, who accepted the grant on behalf of the historical group.
“We get volunteers from Miller to work at the archives, and we’re finding out that while they are learning a lot from us, we are learning a lot more from them,” he said, thanking the kids for opting to support their work with this donation.
Altona Library branch manager Rachael Friesen lauded the students for their hard work fundraising and thanked them for selecting SCRL as a recipient. The money will be put to very good use, she shared.
“We run the summer reading program for all five of our branches,” Friesen said, noting hundreds of kids sign up for this program each year. “So to find crafts and activities that we can do for those kids, it can be extremely expensive.”
This donation is really a full-circle moment, she observed, as there’s a good chance many of the YIP students may have been summer reading club participants when they were younger.
“We’re so appreciative that they chose us to support,” Friesen said.
