This semester, the leadership class at Owen Sound District Secondary School (OSDSS) collaborated with the YMCA of Owen Sound Grey Bruce Immigrant Services office to provide resources to people who have moved to Canada and settled in Owen Sound. This includes refugees, economic migrants and international students – or anyone seeking settlement support.
Over the semester, Grade 11 and 12 students worked on three projects aimed at easing the integration of newcomers. To achieve this goal, the leadership students began the project by seeking input from peers in the English for newcomers class to ensure a useful service was being provided.
With support from the community, the class put together 33 welcome packages. These included essential items for families and children, a variety of brochures for key community and cultural sites in the area, and tickets for Owen Sound Transit.
In addition to the welcome packages, the students provided the YMCA with an interactive online map of Owen Sound identifying important locations and resources around town, including multilingual doctors. They also created a series of short videos highlighting area sites they thought newcomers should be aware of, such as Harrison Park, the library, Inglis Falls, the YMCA, Kelso Beach and the Bayshore.
The YMCA was presented with the bags on June 16 and representatives were overwhelmed by the generosity and thoughtfulness the high school students put into the project.