The fourth annual final presentation assembly of the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) took place Tuesday, June 6 at W. J. Mouat Secondary and was won by a team representing Cyrus Centre.
Students Morgan Warren, Naomi Fujita, Rebecca Hanlon, Masonn Leitch and Sukhjot Brar won $5,000 for the charity.
Second place went to the team of Varshi Domah, Nicole Coraza, Narim Lee, Jane Lee and Haleena Aulakh, who won $500 for the Communitas Supportive Care Society.
YPI is an international initiative designed to support young people in developing community awareness.
Students are taught about philanthropy and charity as part of their Planning 10 course at Mouat. In teams, they research social issues in the community and create a presentation on a local charity they believe is best placed to tackle an issue for which they are passionate.
The YPI finals involve the winning team from each class making a 10-minute presentation in front of a larger audience and panel of judges.
Other charities represented at the finals were The Warm Zone, Hope for Women Pregnancy Services, Matthew’s House, and the Abbotsford Food Bank.
The competition was judged by: Abbotsford school district assistant superintendent Gino Bondi, Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce executive director Allan Asaph, Robert Beischer from the Abbotsford News and students Niharika Ghura, Jessica Romegioli, Jacob Kooy and Luke Snow. Master of ceremonies was Mark Thiessen and event organizer was Shelly Sharma.