A Charitable Way to Celebrate Youth Week

Local Youth Volunteer Their Time to the Gateway of Hope

Ten participants of a local Youth Skills Link program were tasked with finding something fun to celebrate this years Youth Week (May 1st – 7th). But instead of a party, these youth want to give something back to their community.

Called ‘Express to Success’, this Youth Skills Link program is designed to give youth who face barriers to employment an opportunity to gain knowledge about themselves, employability skills and industry specific certificates with a focus on retail, hospitality, tourism, and the service sector. In essence, this program is designed to give local youth a helping hand, and in that same spirit, Friday May 2nd will see them lending a hand for the Salvation Army’s Gateway of Hope.

When asked why they wanted to volunteer during Youth Week, Marisa, a participant in the Express to Success program said, “The reason why I want to help out for Youth Week [with the Gateway of Hope project] is to give the homeless an opportunity to have the chance to turn their lives around, because I know what it’s like living on the streets and having no place to call home.”

The Salvation Army is raising money through their 3rd annual Gateway of Hope Golf Tournament at Newlands Golf & Country Club for their new 31,000 square foot facility that will shelter Langley’s homeless and offer options for those in our community who are at risk of becoming homeless.

“We decided to participate in Youth Week to highlight and celebrate the contribution of our youth,” said Eileen Roffel , Express to Success Coordinator at the Community Skills Centre ~ Langley .

Youth Week is an international celebration of youth held annually during the first week of May. It’s a week of fun, interaction and celebration intended to build a strong connection between young people and their communities and to profile the issues, accomplishments and diversity of youth across the province.