Supported by
League of
extraordinary gentlemen
To many people, they look like fine, young gentlemen. Yet the members of
an exclusive group at Ballenas Secondary School are the first to admit
they haven’t always lived up to that standard.
A series of school suspensions involving many of the current club
members gave rise to their group in the spring of 2009. The school’s
child and youth welfare worker, Janice McMillan recognized there was a
need for these boys, between the ages of 15 and 17, to have a place
where they could find support among their peers, talk about their
issues, gain some life skills and, yes, to have a little fun.
So formed the BSS Gentlemen’s Club.
For this group, the name Gentleman’s club is far removed from older,
less reputable connotations.
Not wanting to be called a boys’ club, and not quite adults, they chose
something they saw as in-between. A gentleman, they say, is a stand-up
guy. So they meet and gain direction and advice from McMillan and Child and Youth Care students from Vancouver Island University, like Anna
MacNiel and Colin Brouwer.
Much of the time, they show up to the club just to talk. “Mostly, it’s
having friends you can talk to, that have the same problems,” said
student Darcy Chalmers.
Other times, they have activities together. Trips to Top Bridge Regional
Park, Little Mountain and TreeGo near Nanaimo are not only fun, but,
said McMillan, teach them a few skills along the way.
Such is the case with the group’s latest effort, raising $3,500 for a
three-day ski trip in February. MacNiel said preparing for the trip
means having the group members learn about planning, budgeting,
co-ordinating transportation and accommodation — and fundraising. Club
member Coleton Reelie said it was different, going out into the
community and asking for money. “Out of nowhere, we show up and start
talking to (business owners),” he said. “We tell them about our group
and then we ask them for donations.”
It’s an activity that many groups and charitable organizations do on a
regular basis, yet for these youth, it’s mostly new. Some like it and
the interactions they have with adults. McMillan said some of the guys
have the gift of gab, with possible futures in sales.
To reach their goal, the club has been holding bake sales (yes, they
bake their own goodies), designing and making T-shirts and belt buckles
to sell at school and are collecting donations for a big raffle next
month. They plan on selling tickets in the school and in the community
on Feb. 14 and 16, when they wait tables at the Parksville Community and
Conference Centre’s Olympic live site. Raffle prizes include a one night
stay in a waterfront room at The Beach Club, a gravity chair and dinner
at the Creek House Restaurant in French Creek.
It’s a lot of work, but if they want to take their ski trip, they plan
on doing a good job. “It takes a lot of things to do, to plan,” said
Reelie, “raise money, who’s going to do it and who’s going to do what.”
Their plans don’t just stop there. McMillan added they hope to work with
the city and local organizations on a project to give back to the
community. That one’s in the early stages and will be thought out over
time.
The BSS Gentlemen’s Club has given the youth a place where they can find
support and some encouraging words, as they work to stay in school and
be contributing members of the community. Through their efforts to
better their club, they are learning about themselves, each other, and
the work it takes to be a success.
Steven Heywood
22 January 2010
http://www.bclocalnews.com/vancouver_island_central/parksville_qualicumbeachnews/community/82308102.html
