Tim L
The charity that has been chosen this month by my latest featured runner, Steve Obermeier, is Youth Empowerment and Support Services (YESS). I’m happy that Steve picked this organization because they occupy a niche in society giving youths 15-24 years of age an option for help out of traumatic situations. YESS exists to be a safe haven for troubled youths and helps guide them along a path to healing. The support services they provide help to properly deal with trauma they have faced and is instrumental in keeping them off the streets. YESS formed as a non-profit organization in 1978 after it was realized that a significant gap existed in available support services for teens aged 16-18. The ability to access Child and Family Services ended the day a youth turned 16, and access to adult services couldn’t be utilized until the age of 18, leaving a significant 2-year void for support. This important period of youth development left many young people with no place to turn resulting in homelessness, continued victimization, and/or addiction. They officially opened their doors in 1982 and, continuing to this day, Youth Empowerment and Social Services is able to provide young people with a safe haven and the tools necessary to live healthy, productive, full lives. Their focus is on healing and supporting youth wherever they are in their lives.
Other than monetary donations, which are always graciously accepted, numerous other ways to give to this deserving charity are also available. Volunteering or donating hard goods and clothing through the Bissel Center Thrift Shop are appreciated or even supporting local businesses or groups that are working in partnership with YESS is helpful. A list of these organizations can be found on their ways to give page on their website. It always makes me happy when I receive donations through my site at https://thestreetsinitiative.org/edmontonians-love-donating/ but as always you can visit thier site directly at https://yess.org/
Thanks everyone for your generosity and support!
