The Town of Minto has received gold status as a Youth Friendly Community.
The designation was awarded by Play Works, a group of provincially-recognized youth organizations that work together to encourage communities to open doors and reinvest in youth play. Minto submitted documentation for nine of the 10 program criteria.
Of those, the documentation for all nine were deemed to meet the criteria and Minto was designated as a Gold Youth Friendly Community.
Program designations range from Bronze, for communities meeting seven elements of the criteria to platinum, for those meeting all 10.
The Town of Minto was recognized for outstanding commitment to providing youth with opportunities to be active contributors to their community through key criteria, including:
– options for play
– youth are formally connected community-wide;
– youth can find information about play activities in the community;
– the community recognizes and celebrates youth;
– the community formally commits funding for youth play;
– community supports positive youth development;
– youth feel valued by their community;
– schools and school boards support the youth friendly approach; and
– play is socially inclusive.
“We are very excited about this formal recognition as it reflects how the community values our youth,” said Minto economic development assistant Taylor Keunen, who also serves as an adult ally to the Minto Youth Action Council.
“We had an overwhelming amount of support from youth, community groups and elected officials who contributed as co-applicants and provided letters of support.”
Keunen continued, “We are very proud of this accomplishment, yet we are aware that there is always room for growth and improvement.”
To learn more about what becoming a Youth Friendly Community entails, contact Keunen or visit playworkspartnership.ca.
The Town of Minto will be officially presented with the award at the Youth Friendly Community recognition reception, ceremony and gala banquet at The Town of the Blue Mountains on April 12.
