On June 18, the Groupe Action Jeunesse Pontiac in Luskville announced via its Facebook page that the organization will host weekly gatherings for local youth after receiving financing from the Quebec Jeunesse-Secretariat (SJQ).

Starting this fall, youth from 12 to 25 in the Municipality of Pontiac will have a new place to kick it with peers and express their creativity every week thanks to the recent dose of grant money.

Following the SJQ’s call for community projects aimed at youth between the ages of 12 and 25 back in February, Geoffray was committed to proving that Luskville’s youth deserved to be rewarded with something that would be fun and beneficial to them in the long run.

Focusing on five specific themes, including health, education, citizenship, employability and entrepreneurship, the goal of the project is to provide enticing activities intended to attract more kids to participate in than most of the municipalities’ events.

“Most of the activities we’re offering are for primary school kids,” she said. “So, how do we get the youth to get involved and offer them activities that they’re willing to do? Our idea first was getting them together.”

With the initiative, Geoffray hopes participants learn how to utilize their skills, establish goals and realize their respective potentials without having to break the bank or travel long distances to do so.

“It sparks creativity,” she said. “I hope it will show them that they actually don’t need that much. Just time and space so that they can come together and trade their ideas.”

By coming together under the same roof for enjoyable hands-on entertainment, youngsters will have a new avenue to exchange ideas with their peers, get to know them and make friendships.

As many local kids attend separate high schools after spending the better parts of elementary school together, the gatherings will be a great place for kids from different municipalities to keep in touch no matter the distance between them.

“A lot of kids leave our primary schools here and they go to high school,” she said. “They go to different high schools. They lose touch with their friends. The municipality is very big. How do they gather? There are no places for the youth basically.”

Projected to take place once per week on Thursday evenings from September of 2019 until June 2020, the meetings are expected to be held in various buildings in the municipality. The only hard part is finding the right place to host the kids, Geoffray said.

“Places that are interesting for them,” she said. “That’s a challenge with this age group. It can’t just be like an empty space.”

From inviting professionals to offer lessons on specific subjects or heading on field trips to a number of interesting sites in the region, Geoffray said the activities will aim at being constructive and fun at the same time to make them as attractive as possible for the youth.

With no concrete plans in regards to what the workshops will comprise, options are currently wide open, Geoffray said.

Out of the $11,000 granted for the project, $7,000 of it will go towards hiring a dynamic certified animator to monitor and initiate the weekly meetings whereas the rest will be dedicated to putting together activities for the kids, Geoffray said.

Anyone intending to submit an application for the job are invited to contact the GAJ via e-mail or to call Geoffray at (873) 353-3235.

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