 | Home page |  | Text size |  | E-mail this page |
Built to last and help youth Gjoa Haven's Snowy Owl Youth Society is working to open a community centre that can pay for itself
Miranda Scotland
Northern News Services
Published Monday, September 9, 2013
UQSUQTUUQ/GJOA HAVEN
Red flakes of paint cling to the sides of the worn building while thin boards block window openings and letters carelessly scrawled in powder blue spray paint mark the door.
The old Kitikmeot Inuit Association building in Gjoa Haven is a fixer upper to be sure but that hasn't stopped its new inhabitants from dreaming big.
Members of the Snowy Owl Youth Society (SOYS) - including youths Moses Totalik, Tommy Jr. Porter, Brent Pukiqnak and Northern Store manager Matt Gee, as well as the hamlet's Economic Development Officer Joseph Aglukkaq - are working on kick-starting a youth entrepreneurial project.
Over the next year, they want to turn the space into a community centre with an Internet cafe, a tuck shop, a gaming area and a customized clothing booth.
Through the endeavor the society is hoping to stop youth from committing acts of vandalism and getting into drugs and alcohol.
Instead, they want to occupy their time with learning and making friends, said Aglukkaq.
Youth will be invited to get involved in entrepreneurial activities at the centre, according to a draft plan from the society.
However, the details surrounding the activities still need to be worked out, said Aglukkaq.
Ideally, he added, the organization would team up with Qiqirtaq High School to launch a course on how to start and run a company.
Part of the program would require student groups to form a business idea to generate profit at the centre.
The school and the society haven't discussed the topic at this time.
Also, some teens will be employed by the community centre.
The society hopes the opportunity teaches the students skills such as problem solving, customer service, record keeping and time management.
"We think entrepreneurial skill development is crucial for students to learn as money management will be a part of their daily lives," said Aglukkaq.
Youth will be in charge of the tuck shop, which will offer snacks and beverages for a price, and will run the Internet cafe, where customers will have to pre-pay for an allotted amount of time on the computers.
They will also serve visitors looking to buy customized shirts, hoodies, sweatpants or other clothing items.
Renovations to the building began earlier this summer and are about halfway done. But there is still a lot of work left to do, said Aglukkaq.
The property still needs windows, steel doors, a boiler hookup, an electrical hookup and a paint job.
To help with the cost of the project, the Northern Store donated $15,000 to the society while the hamlet of Gjoa Haven's economic development office pitched in $4,000.
However, the society will need to raise more money.
Members anticipate the startup cost for the project to be approximately $200,000, according to the draft plan.
They plan to secure the funds through grants.
Once the centre gets going, the annual revenue is expected to be about $117,000. All profits will be re-invested into the centre, the plan states.
At this time there are no Internet cafes or customized clothing stores open in the community.
SOYS members are aiming to have the centre running by November 2014.
"If we set it up properly, I think this will be running for a long time for the benefit of the community," said Aglukkaq.
"I wish every community could do this. There's a lot of money being spent, but I would say it's spent in wrong places. Give it to the people at the front line and the youth are the front line. They just need someone to help them."
| 
