Project North
The YMCA offers an innovative leadership experience for students in Grades 9 to 12x from Sarnia and surrounding First Nations communities. This project follows the successful YMCA Project Kenya which occurred in Sarnia-Lambton (2012-2013), Project Guatemala in Chatham-Kent (2014-2015), and Project North (2017-2019, 2023, 2024, 2025).
Want to keep up to date with what we're up to? Follow or visit us at ymcaswo.youth on Instagram.
2026 Project North
15 youth will be selected to join Project North for 6-months of training, activities, and events. Youth must be in grade 9-12 at the time of application and will be returning to high school in September of 2026. Project North will meet twice a week to work on service projects, prepare for events, and participate in leadership training.
Successful applicants will be onboarded as YMCA volunteers and would be eligible for:
- Gaining volunteer hours through event planning and community service
- A YMCA of Southwestern Ontario membership
- An overnight trip in Southwestern Ontario
Our program aims to gather youth voice in the space to decide where to travel to and what types of community events the group will be involved with. Youth will be part of the process from start to finish to create another great experience for Project north participants.
We look forward to your applications!
Interviews to be held on June 25th and 29th, 2026.
2025 Project North
2025 Service Project
There were many ideas of how to fundraise this year, raffles/blind bags similar to our blind date with a book fundraiser in 2024, slime kits or sensory jars for children to create at events or their own time, hosting trivia nights, beverage stations, scavenger hunts, Shrinky dink bracelets, and t-shirt decorating. Though many ideas were shared, Project North had to have a specific focus throughout the year. Through research, discussion, and voting, Project North members decided on creating charms for bracelets and keychains for their main form of fundraising and wanted to accomplish this through the creation of Shrinky dinks.
2025 Project North Travel
Project North traveled to YMCA Camp Henry in Point Pelee for a 6-day overnight trip to participate in their Leaders in Training program alongside campers. Throughout the week Project North participants:
- Built relationships with peers and campers from across Canada and around the world
- Were role-models to younger campers
- Led daily activities and routines
- Created a camp-wide game to facilitate with the younger campers
- Enjoyed the trails and sites of beautiful Point Pelee, the Southern-most tip of Canada
- Kept active with running, biking, and swimming
2024 Project North
Our 2024 team successfully travelled to Alberta in August for a 6-day trip travelling from Sarnia ON to Calgary, Mountain View County, and Canmore AB. The Project North team experienced many firsts during their trip and explored locations such as the Painted Warriors Ranch, Chester Lake during their day-hike with Yamnuska Mountain Adventures, the Shane Homes YMCA @ Rocky Ridge, the TELUS Spark Centre, and were able to meet and thank our sponsors at NOVA Chemicals. Our Youth committed to various projects during 2024 including: A Blind Date with a Book fundraiser (April-July), the Celebration of Youth Awards Ceremony (May), volunteering with YMCA camp and children's programming (Jan-July), the Mitton Village Block Party (August), Fright Fest in the Village (Oct) and collaborated with the Leaders of Tomorrow for Truthsgiving (Nov).