The Power of Media Club

Hello YES community!

We hope that you and your loved ones are doing well as we head into Winter. I hope that you can take some time for yourself, whether it be a brisk walk before it's too cold, or a cozy cup of tea before bed. There is still so much to look forward to as our year slowly comes to a close. For The YES, one of those things is the return of Media Club!

Media Club is an opportunity for 14-19 year olds to read, watch and listen to our favourite articles, TedTalks, podcasts and more, and connect with each other to discuss today's biggest topics. In order to receive a Leadership Certificate from the program, youth are asked to create a final project representing their biggest takeaway. Check out our last group's projects below and be sure to listen to their experiences in their own words on our latest Care Package episode!

Sarah's No Plan(et) B Shirts

For her final project, Sarah, from Castlegar, was inspired by our sustainability session and our conversation on fast fashion. In collaboration with her high school capstone project, Sarah already had her own sticker and clothing business, Kootenay Kulture Supply Co. Using her business as a catalyst, as well as her artistic talent, Sarah created eco-friendly No Plan(et) B T-Shirts to act as conversation starters, alongside an incredible webpage that illustrates small yet mighty ways that we can support our planet and futures.

Fun fact: Sarah also created our awesome IALAC (I Am Lovable and Capable) and Peaks & Valleys stickers. Check them out in our shop!

Jenny's Fast Fashion Poster

Also inspired by our fast fashion conversation, Jenny from Northern BC put together an awesome poster exploring the topic with powerful statistics. Did you know that it takes 2720 litres of water to make one cotton t-shirt? Jenny is hoping to pay her learning forward by practicing more sustainability in her day to day life through conscious choices, and conversations. In our Podcast Episode, Jenny mentions how Media Club allowed her to broaden her perspectives and create lasting connections:"If I didn’t go into this with an open mind then I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to grows in the ways I did and to connect with the people around me”.

Zea's Original Songs

Zea from Vancouver Island gifted us with two original and thoughtful songs for her final Media Club project. One big takeaway for Zea was her evolving definition of what a leader is and the difference between armoured and daring leadership. As per Brené Brown, "The daring leadership response to that is we operate from the belief that leaders don’t have all the answers, but ask the right questions....it's not about being the smartest person in the room, it's about making room". Inspired by our sessions on mindfulness and leadership, getting comfortable with discomfort, and getting to know ourselves better, you can check out Zea's original song, Butterflies, below:

Her other song, Open Mind, serves as a powerful reminder to not judge a book by its cover, and to reach deeper within ourselves to find connection. Read the lyrics below:

These final projects from Sarah, Jenny, and Zea continue to be inspiring. With our next round of Media Club starting soon, we hope that you'll join us for transformative conversations and the chance to build up your leadership skills, perspectives and resume!

This Winter we're fortunate to have two streams available for Media Club: Leadership & Self-Development, and Co-ops & Cooperation, kindly sponsored and subsidized in cost by Co-operators. You can register and learn more about our program here; registration closes on December 3rd 2021.

See you in Media Club soon!

Lots of love,

Shania