Celebrating Our Students – Alberta’s 1st Annual IYMP Day

On June 6th, IYMP hosted it’s first annual celebration in Alberta, in partnership with the University of Alberta’s First People’s House. The celebration coined “IYMP Day” is held at the end of the school year to celebrate the students who have participated in the program as mentors. 32 mentors from 6 different communities gathered at the U of A. First People’s House, the Indigenous student centre at the university, hosted IYMP and all our guests.

IYMP Day started off with a prayer from Elder Flora Northwest, acknowledgements from National Director, Teena Starlight and Minister of Indigenous Relations in Alberta, Rick Wilson. Ever Active Schools Executive Director, Brian Torrance carried us through as our event’s emcee.

With a total of 61 guests in attendance the group then headed off for a tour of the University. Supporting students with post-secondary engagement is one of IYMP’s goals and IYMP Day had the students on-site, immersed in the post-secondary landscape.

The IYMP crew then settled in for a feast before getting together for games. Physical activity is one of the four main components of the Indigenous Youth Mentorship Program and our students keep physically active through games, traditional and contemporary.

We heard rave reviews from the event and are already looking forward to next year. Get in contact if you think your community could use IYMP in your schools, and maybe we’ll see you at our next one.