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CYAN volunteers stir things up at Kerr Street Ministries by John Bkila Oakville Beaver Staff 9 | Thursday, August 21, 2014 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com Volunteers from the Community Youth in Action Network (CYAN) donned their chef hats and aprons to host a community dinner at Kerr Street Ministries (KSM). Last month, local youths were at the Oakville-based, Christian charitable organization as part of CYAN's Summer Passport Program. Weekly during the summer, the program provides a "day of action" for Oakville youths to explore a variety of areas of volunteerism within the community, such as poverty, literacy, seniors, and safety, said Caroline Smeenk, CYAN youth engagement co-ordinator. "These surprising new opportunities provide novel experiences that pull youths to areas of volunteering they may not have imagined," she said. "Each week also focuses on skills learned. For example at KSM, we are volunteering for low-income families in the community, learning about the importance of food security and community dinners, as well as the youths gain valuable experience with food preparation and cooking." Community Youth in Action Network volunteers, from left, Caroline Smeenk, Tom Campbell and Kadriye Chandas prepare a tzatziki salad, one of the many dishes served to more than 80 guests at a Kerr Street Ministries community dinner. | photo by Graham Paine ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) CYAN also provides similar days of action for youths during the school year, however, they are not consistently scheduled as in the summer. Smeenk says CYAN chose to team up with KSM recently because of the organization's need for community partners. "They are in need of community partners to be able to provide the amazing three meals a week they schedule per week... which feeds more than 80 people per week in our community," she said. The meals are provided by community groups, church groups or organizations who purchase, pre- pare and serve dinner in a "familystyle" setting for those living in the poverty and low-income brackets. On Mondays, KSM puts on a Family Night Dinner; Thursdays, a Community Dinner; and Saturday mornings, a Community Breakfast, serving approximately 70, 80 and 90 people, respectively, on average. Volunteers are needed for Aug. 25 and 28. For more information, email Nadine Brown, community meals coordinator at meals@kerrstreet.com or 905-845-7485, or visit http:// goo.gl/2d1F8l. CYAN is a youth-driven organization that promotes and fosters the value of community service, engagement, wellness and leadership. "Through our programming, youths are inspired to engage in a lifetime of volunteerism, skill building, initiative, and civic leadership," said Smeenk. "Our focus is providing volunteer experiences based on the community that expose youths to issues and resources they may not be aware of, and provide them with the chance to learn skills to help them grow in return." Visit www.thecyan.org to learn more about CYAN. wIth pUrChASE Of dInIng tABLE At rEgULAr prICE 50% OFF dInIng ChAIrS ***ChECKOUt OUr AffOrdABLE BEdrOOmS SEtS hOmE fUrnIShIngS And ACCESSOrIES 427 SpEErS rd. UnIt 6 (BEtwEEn dOrVAL & 4th LInE) www.palmabrava.com OpEn SUndAyS 11-4 OAKVILLE 905-845-6556