RAY’s Place hosts Christmas party for beneficiaries

On Dec. 27, RAY’S Place held its third annual Christmas get-together for its scholarship and bursary students, their families and sponsors, at the home of Doug and Norah Mills.

The occasion is a great opportunity for students to meet and compare notes about their lives at college or university and chat with their sponsors and other supporters of RAY’S Place.

RAY’s Place, (RAY being an acronym for Rent-A-Youth) was founded in 2008 through the initiative of Jim Vandewater and the leadership of Tony Fry.

Initially founded to create summer employment for local youth, RAY’s Place developed an educational focus. 

Incorporated in 2012 as a charitable corporation, RAY’S Place Mission statement is: “To encourage and support local youth to pursue a post-secondary education leading to a diploma, certificate or degree.”

In short, RAY’s Place wants to ensure Creemore area youth are readily employable when they become part of the Canadian workforce.

In 2012, residents began to donate student scholarships. Winners are selected from local Grade 12 applicants by an independent scholarship committee, which weighs various academic and social achievements. 

Once these factors are considered, students’ financial needs play an important role in the final selections. In fact, many scholarship recipients would have had difficulty attending the educational institution of their choice were it not for a RAY’s Place scholarship.

In 2016, the RAY’S Place Scholarship Trust was established to hold scholarship donations, with funds disbursed only upon direction of the Trust’s Scholarship Committee. The trust is a registered charitable foundation for tax purposes with operations overseen by two trustees.

Funds contributed to RAY’S Place (also a registered charity), are used to finance educational programs and cover minimal overhead expenses.  Any funds deemed by the Board to be surplus to RAY’S Place operating needs are used for bursaries.

Since RAY’S Place is a volunteer organization, every donated dollar directly goes to support local youth.

Over the past five years, thanks solely to the generosity of area residents, RAY’s Place has either funded or committed over $230,000 in scholarship and bursary awards to local students.

With respect to the RAY’s Place summer work program, there were few students interested in working over the past two summers.

As RAY’S Place engages more with parents and schools, a list of students interested in summer work together with a list of interested employers, will be compiled. Students will deal directly with employers.

RAY’S Place is planning to work with Nottawasaga and Creemore Public School’s principal, its parent council, the guidance department at Stayner Collegiate Institute (where Creemore students attend high school), and North Dufferin Collegiate (where Mulmur students attend high school). These activities are intended to identify educational needs and programs updated or developed to meet these needs.

At this juncture, it appears that mathematics is a difficulty for many students at both the primary and secondary school levels.

Assuming financing is available, RAY’s Place hopes to finance suitable tutors to help remedy this gap since it is a critical subject for science and other technical pursuits.

The foregoing activities are expected to help identify students interested in summer employment and the work program and formulate a longer-term relationship with parents, schools and students, from primary through secondary school.

In six short years, 20 per cent of Canada’s population will be 65 and older. These ‘retirees’ will possess greater wealth than any group in history and require increased assistance with healthcare and a variety of maintenance and support services. Specific skills are requisites to earn a living in the future. 

Automation and technology have eliminated many traditional jobs and will continue to do so. 

An escalating demand for services will require skills that can only be acquired through certificate, diploma or degree-granting institutions. 

The Bank of Canada states that 80 per cent of Canadians are currently employed in service industries which require individual skills, primarily of a non-repetitive nature. Examples include healthcare, personal services, carpentry, construction, plumbing, heating and air conditioning, heavy equipment operation, mechanics, software and transportation.

These skills, and others, are eligible for the RAY’s Place bursary program.

More than ever, service jobs will be the backbone of our economy and specific skills and a post-secondary education will be mandatory. 

RAY’s Place wants to ensure that local youth are well equipped to secure these jobs and take their place in our community.

For additional information please contact Doug Mills at doug@dasmills.ca or 705-466-3663.