FCSS DO Crew takes home award Youth Awards Ceremony

It’s not every day a local organization wins a national award. For the Family and Community

Support Services DO Crew initiative, that day came on March 2 during the Canada Sustainable Development

Goals Youth Awards Ceremony. DO Crew was one of 10 organizations from across Canada that took home an award, presented during the Together Ensemble virtual conference, hosted by the University of Waterloo.

“It was definitely a surprise,” said Shannon Rawluk, FCSS Youth DO Crew co-ordinator. “Obviously I’m proud of the program and what we’ve done, but to be recognized on a national level, when there’s just 10 awards given out, that’s a huge honour.”

Rawluk, who also presented at the event, added the award is a huge feather in the cap for DO Crew members who reside in Coaldale, Coalhurst, Raymond and Taber.

“To have the opportunity to speak at the conference, it was amazing. Honestly, to have the program recognized with these four little communities that I bet 99.9 per cent of people in attendance had no idea where they were, was just amazing.”

The DO Crew was recognized in the Education and Economic Development category.

“The goal we were meeting was about providing meaningful employment for all by 2030,” explained

Rawluk. “We won because we were recognized for the work we do in helping youth, who have always had a historically higher unemployment rate than older Canadians, get access to work experience, without actually having to get a job.”

Often, there are limited job opportunities for youth in rural communities, and the COVID situation did not help matters. That’s where the FCSS program comes into play.

“Through DO Crew, they have the chance to get this work experience by volunteering and leading service projects from start to finish,” said Rawluk.

“They also talk about different social issues, things that are needs within their communities, and it’s always coming from a youth-led perspective. Then, they plan the projects.”

In Coalhurst, youth identified a lack of recreational activities for teens as an important issue. On March 25, DO Crew members hosted a free event in the community centre, featuring games and food.

“They have planned everything from start to finish,” said Rawluk, who added youth learn many skills along the way. “They’re actually gaining really meaningful experience in event planning, project management, working with other teens and even figuring out marketing.”

For many DO Crew members, planning similar events is likely their first work experience and may also be their first volunteer experience.

“We also connect with other organizations and municipalities we work within and help them volunteer at community events, and that gets them comfortable talking with people within their communities and connecting with adults and it opens their eyes to how events are done on a larger scale,” said Rawluk.

DO Crew members did not have the opportunity to attend the virtual conference, which was held during their school day, but will have the experience to view the ceremony online at https://togetherensemble.ca/sdgyouthawards

“We will have the opportunity to sit down with them at a future meeting and they’ll get to watch it and hear from other leaders,” said Rawluk. “I hope they will be inspired but also proud and excited to be part of something like this.”

Certainly, the award has inspired FCSS to bring the DO Crew concept to more high school students throughout southern Alberta.

“We are going to be expanding the program to more communities in our service area, which we are super excited about,” said Rawluk.