Karina Bhana, a Grade 12 student at Craig Kielburger Secondary School and a member of Dare To Be You(th)’s (DTBY) Community Youth Council, has found that her involvement with the charity has not only made an impact on her fellow youth, but has helped her to grow as a person as well.
DTBY is a Burlington-based charity that empowers youth between the ages of 14 and 24 by teaching them life skills and helping them connect with the communities around them with programs like the Community Youth Council, which gives young people an opportunity to learn leadership skills as they work together to impact their communities.
Bhana first got involved with DTBY earlier this year when she organized the charity’s second-ever Play Day at her school on May 28. She was on her student council during Grade 11 and, while she still enjoyed herself working with the council, found that the school had little funding to put toward large projects and that she didn’t have a role where she could make things happen.
Despite the difficulties, Bhana was connected to DTBY by her vice-principal, Jodie Schnurr, who put her forward as an organizer for a large Play Day event funded by the charity.
“I organized everything from food, to volunteers to getting musicians together,” Bhana said. “I got all of our vendors and I also got the Halton Regional Police involved since I did the peace program with them. All of that came from me and they seemed to like me, so I just kept working with them and I’m now a youth ambassador with them.”
Bhana organized performances from multiple musicians, including local group ZAYA, artist Anthony Haley, Milton Mayor Gordon Krantz and Burlington MP Karina Gould.
The youth council member enjoyed her time working on the Play Day and the freedom she had to set things up and make an impact with the help of DTBY.
“It was the first time I got to run something that I wanted to do on my own,” she said. “It was really cool to make an impact, I wanted to work with these people more. I wanted to get involved with the charity, not just through my school. Toward the end of Play Day when I saw everything come together, that was my moment.”
Bhana joined the Community Youth Council after working with DTBY on the Play Day event, and works together with other students hoping to expand their skill-sets, learn new things and improve the skills that they already had.
“I’ve definitely grown my public speaking skills,” she said. “I didn’t do much of that before, now I’ve gained so much experience. I learned a lot about technology, I hate technology but I’ve learned how to use it since being put on the marketing team. I’ve learned great communication skills and team building, and I’ve seen different perspectives on leadership roles.”
After nearly six months of working with DTBY, Bhana was quick to recommend the charity to any young person who wants to get more involved with their community.
“If you’re looking for someplace to get yourself out of your box and your bubble, they’re great,” she said. “Before, I wasn’t the person to send out emails when it came to student council or notifying teachers of events, but now I have the skillset to do that. They take any avenue that you want to work on, and they throw you right in. It makes you grow and you really see all the perspectives within that one area.”