Cherryville Food & Resources Foodbank News Job Opportunities for Youth in Rural Areas by Haylee Bennett

Job Opportunities for Youth in Rural Areas by Haylee Bennett


Living in a rural area makes it difficult for youth to find work. There are not many job opportunities when living in Cherryville and other remote towns. Unless you have a reliable ride to and from town, where there are many job openings for younger people, then it is difficult to find work. With the lack of job availability in rural towns, youth are not able to gain work experience that is essential for their future. The Canada Summer Jobs Program helps create more job opportunities. They target work suitable for the youth population, and work to teach them about their rights as an employee. This has made a huge difference for the youth in our community, providing job openings suited for them.

This summer, myself (Haylee Benet) and Senay Thompson were employed with Cherryville Community Food & Resources. Having youth as part of the team brings new perspective and ideas to the organization. It is important for the next generation to gain proper work experience, and learn important skills needed to be in the workforce. Senay has been working with Renske in the community gardens since May. They have been cultivating the garden and have been able to supply an outstanding amount of produce for the food bank. Each week there is a large assortment of fresh produce to give out with hampers, cultivated by Senay and Renske.

In an interview I conducted with Senay, she expressed that she is very grateful for this job opportunity close to home. She feels she has gained important work experience for her future. Senay has learned how to apply for a job, and now feels confident for future job application processes. Communicating with her coworkers and boss has helped her build workplace communication skills she will continue to use throughout her life. Senay has had a wonderful summer maintaining the community gardens with Renske and is thankful for the experience in the workforce she has gained.

My name is Haylee Bennett, I just graduated and have had an amazing summer, learning workplace skills before heading into future careers. At Cherryville Community Food & Resources I have been helping with food hampers, social media, and the senior’s meal program. Every week I help Barb build and hand out food hampers, as well as keep the food bank clean and organized. I have also helped keep our social media up to date and have worked on various projects for our webpage throughout the summer. For the senior’s dinners, I help prepare and distribute the meals to seniors in our community. Towards the end of the summer, I started going to the Lake Country food bank to learn about food recovery. I have been going twice a week and have gotten to learn the processes involved in food recovery, which we hope to incorporate into our organization!

Overall, I have been able to gain a great deal of work experience with this job. I feel more confident in my communication skills, learning from involvement in the community and communicating with my coworkers and supervisors. Going through the job application process has prepared me for future careers and I now feel more confident than ever moving into the workforce. I am very grateful for the opportunity to work with Cherryville Community Food and Resources this summer, and I am very thankful for all the important skills I was able to practice for my future!

 

Hi, my name is Haylee Bennett! I am 18 and just graduated from Charles Bloom Secondary School this year. In the future I would like to become an RMT (registered massage therapist). I am currently working to save money for the course and hope to start next year. I enjoy volunteering in the community in my free time. I have helped at the seniors dinners, food bank, and programs run through the elementary school since I was in grade 4.  I also enjoy baking and reading in my spare time, as well as going on hikes.

 

 

 

 

This position was funded by Canada Summer Jobs. If you are interested in employee or volunteer opportunities within our organization, please contact our office at 250-547-0089 for more information.

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Related Post

National Indigenous History MonthNational Indigenous History Month

June is the designated month for celebrating First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples heritage, culture and accomplishments and Cherryville Community Food & Resources wants to create space to recognize this rich history especially today, June 21st as it is the 25th anniversary of National Indigenous Peoples Day.

First, we want to remember the 215 children recently found at Kamloops Residential School and we stand in solidarity with Indigenous families and communities who are mourning these losses as well as many others, who are residential school survivors, and who continue to be impacted today by the appalling role of colonialism. With the slow, incremental progress the Canadian government has made toward implementing the 94 calls to action in the Truth and Reconciliation act, non-Indigenous people must stand with Canada’s Indigenous populations and demand for real progress to transpire.

We will be putting orange ribbons in our hamper distributions for the next few months to bring awareness about Orange Shirt Day, a commemorative day for “over 150,000 Indigenous children [who] attended residential schools in Canada from the late 1800’s until…[1996 where]…it’s estimated that over 5,000 died while under residential school care. Now is the time to listen to the stories of survivors and their families and learn from them, so that these mistakes are not repeated. It is a time for conversations about understanding the survivors’ truths and beginning the journey toward reconciliation. Now is the time for an exploration of opportunities to do better for generations of children to come” (BC Achievement Association, 2021). For more information on the meaning behind Orange Shirt Day visit:

https://www.bcachievement.com/2020/09/29/every-child-matters-the-meaning-behind-orange-shirt-day/

https://www.orangeshirtday.org/about-us.html

Cherryville resides on the unceded territory of the Syilx tmixw (Okanagan). https://native-land.ca/maps/territories/okanagan/

“The Okanagan Nation Alliance (ONA) was formed in 1981 as the inaugural First Nations government in the Okanagan which represents the 8 member communities including; Okanagan Indian Band, Upper Nicola Band, Westbank First Nation, Penticton Indian Band, Osoyoos Indian Band and Lower and Upper Similkameen Indian Bands and the Colville Confederated Tribes on areas of common concern. Each community is represented through the Chiefs Executive Council (CEC) by their Chief or Chairman.

The Syilx/Okanagan people still affirm the land is theirs, as no treaty has been negotiated” syilx.org

How non-Indigenous people can fight colonialism and become allies to our Indigenous communities (as cited by On Canada Project)

“Settlers Take Action

Step 1: Find out whose traditional territory you live on. Visit native-land.ca

Step 2: Click on the links of the territories from native-land.ca and learn more about the original caretakers of the land you now inhabit, their history and the current issues that affect their communities.

Step 3: Read about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and its 94 Calls to Action.

Step 4: Email your MP. Tell them you care about the Indigenous people of Canada and want to see action taken to reconcile with them, as described in the Truth and Reconciliation Report. Ask for an update on what they are personally doing to take action. Hold them accountable.” https://oncanadaproject.ca/settlerstakeaction

Support Indigenous Businesses

Shop First Nations is a website that has compiled Indigenous Business across the nation. You can search by province and sub category including: health & beauty, food & beverage, retail, art & entertainment, professionals, construction, attractions, hospitality, legal services and more. For BC specific, check out this website: https://shopfirstnations.com/locations/canada/british-columbia/  

Local Resources and Supports

Vernon Friendship Centre: an Indigenous non-profit affiliated with the BC Association of Friendship Centres, providing culturally appropriate health/social programs and services for the North Okanagan community. Check out their website at http://www.vernonfirstnationsfriendshipcentre.com/  or, call: (250)-542-1247.

First Nations Health Authority: the first and only provincial First Nations Health Authority in Canada, working to transform and reform the way health care is delivered to BC First Nations. There are a variety of resources, supports, and services available to BC First Nations listed at https://www.fnha.ca/  For more information specific to the Interior Region, please contact: interior.region@fnha.ca or call:​ 1-877-440-1140 (toll-free)​

For more information about available health benefits including dental, medical supplies and equipment, medical transportation, mental health, pharmacy, and vision, the Interior Region contact is Joyce Kenoras – Phone: 250-318-6634

Final Message

In light of National Indigenous History Month, we interviewed Kathi Shields, a 14 year resident of Cherryville who identifies as Métis. We asked her if she would like to present a message of encouragement to Indigenous and non-Indigenous people living in Cherryville and this was her response:

And, “I am very grateful to be living in Cherryville on Okanagan territory”.

Organic Community GardenOrganic Community Garden

Our Organic Community Garden, established in 2017 and continually supported through the +Fresh Gardens & Growing Fund!

The garden is situated on a private piece of property in Cherryville, BC where the owner’s plant, oversee and manage the garden. In 2018 a second area was initiated to double the size of the garden which yielded 1545 lbs of organic produce! We were able to offer fresh, organic produce every week for the entire growing season. More than 20 families, 65 people, were influenced by the organic garden in 2018. Planters with pre-planted lettuce, strawberries and herbs were also provided to recipients of the Cherryville Food Bank. This allowed households to grow a portion of their own food, it was highly successful with lots of positive feedback from those who received them.

In 2019, our garden produced 1963 lbs of organic produce which again went right back into the hands of our community members! Cannot wait to see what happens in 2020!

Seniors Meal Program – A Great Success!!Seniors Meal Program – A Great Success!!

October 17th, 2020 marked the pick-up day of our FIRST pre-made meals for seniors, and it rolled out absolutely wonderfully! Turkey Dinner was the meal available which came with turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and gravy, vegetables, stuffing, a bun, and dessert. All individually prepared meals are $5.00 and we successfully packaged and sold 135! This day would NOT have been possible without an incredible, hardworking, and compassionate crew of people and I would like to personally thank the following:

Our Volunteer Cooks, Meal Preppers, and Packagers: Diana Verhage, Corrie Verhage, Manda Harrop, Karen St. Pierre, & Bev Melvin.

         

A special thank you to Greg Cretin, a professional meat carver who graciously volunteered his time to carve all 6 turkeys!

We thank Lynne Frerrichs and Angelia Harvey who coordinated meal orders, made calls, and supported the set up and launch of this meal program.

Also, a special thank you to Angelia Harvey who delivered meals to those who were unable to drive or wasn’t able to make it for pick-up.

Lastly, a very special thank you to Sharon Harvey and the Cherryville Community Food Bank Society who spent months planning and working together to see this vision come to fruition. With the positive feedback we have already received from seniors, families, and community members, this is clearly a need for our community and we are beyond excited to be able to offer this service. Most of the food was donated by the Cherryville Community Food Bank, some was donated by Dolman’s and without everyone who showed up to support us, this would not have been possible.

From the bottom of our hearts….Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

As a reminder, if you would like to specifically donate to this service, all funds go back into the meal program itself. Simply click the Donate Now page and make a special note at the bottom as to where you would like your donations to go (for example: $20 to purchase 4 meals for seniors; $50.00 towards food costs, etc.) and we will ensure your donation request is honored.