Rossland youth will remain silent for 24 hours on Friday, Nov. 20 to raise money for a women’s shelter.
Me to We Rossland, a group of socially conscious youth who are commited to making a difference in the world, will beparticipating in We Are Silent to raise money for the Wins Transition House in Trail.
“It’s not just talking,” says Devin Knox, age 17. “It’s also social media, so it’s anything that gives you a voice, where peoplecan hear you and understand your opinion.”
Remaining silent is a way to raise awareness for those who have no voice, and it seems fitting that Me to We Rossland hasdecided to donate money earned to Wins Transition House, which shelters women who are leaving violent or abusivesituations.
Me to We Rossland is part of the Rossland Youth Action Network.
“We decided that it would be an awesome idea to start a Me to We club, and it’s pretty much getting kids involved involunteering locally and internationally,” says Knox.
Knox recently returned from a Me to We trip where she spent a month volunteering at a rural Indian school.
Now back home, she and Me to We Rossland are currenlty more focused on providing local support.
“The whole point of the Me to We club is to support a local charity and do events and volunteer for them and raise money forthem, and then also pick an international oganisation,” says Knox. “So we’ve decided [that] up until about May we’re going tobe doing things for local organizations and then in May we’re going to do a big thing for an international organization.”
The group is thinking of choosing an organization involved with water.
Monday night, Me to We Rossland gathered at the YAN Space to create Yodel pages for We Are Silent, so that they can easilycollect pledges.
Mike Kent, YAN coordinator, gave the kids tips on how to set up their pages and get the word out. They also asked himquestions about how they’re supposed to negotiate things like their jobs.
Because some of the youth need to work on Friday, they won’t necessarily be completing the challenge that day. They may todo it on Thursday or Saturday instead.
Kent, who also owns Yodel, wanted to emphasize that the site is waving its five per cent site administration fees for anymoney raised by the Me to We group.
The group will also be doing a fundraiser during Rekindle on Dec. 5.
Me to We members will wrap gifts at the space, and all proceeds will go to the West Kootenay Friends of Refugees.