At Power To Be our team is committed to engaging in impactful community development. Many of our staff members are involved in various external committees that keep us connected to different ideas, new initiatives, and collaboration with other organizations. We recognize that we are all working towards building impactful programs for our community. Through building these relationships within our communities we are able to provide more fulsome support and resources to our participants.
The Youth Service Provider Network (YSPN) is one such initiative that Power To Be is part of. Founded by a group of service providers in Victoria, the YSPN serves to connect organizations through collective training initiatives and gratitude events. These connections have been especially valuable through the tricky times of COVID. Regular meetings and check-ins have provided members the opportunity to stay connected and support each other with information, resources, and positive encouragement!
One of the key contributions that the YSPN supports is the annual HYPE conference. Aimed at “Helping youth programs excel” (HYPE) the conference provides an affordable, fun, and engaging program for youth service providers in Victoria. Local practitioners facilitate workshops and networking activities that build connections and learning opportunities based on the unique needs of our community. As a member of the HYPE organizing team, I am always so humbled by the talent, dedication, and genuine care that exists within our community. A silver lining of COVID is that we have been able to expand the reach of this community initiative through virtual engagement. We have hosted two Canada-wide virtual connections and will be offering the HYPE conference to professionals outside of the southern Vancouver Island region! We are definitely “HYPE’d” for the opportunity to share our community with others across the country. I am proud to represent Power To Be in our community and look forward to sharing our goals of helping folks to feel like they belong in nature.
