A committee for youth with diverse abilities is getting a re-brand.
Inclusion Action Committee is the new name for the committee once known as the LAST committee, Life After School Transition Committee, which first started as a sub-committee of the Ridge Meadows Community Network.
For more than two decades local service providers behind the committee have been working together to promote inclusion and ease the transition from youth to adult services for people with diverse abilities.
This re-brand better reflects the passion and excitement the youth bring to their work in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows.
“It was time for a refresh,” said Shelli Silvestri, who facilitates work experience for School District 42’s learning services.
“Everyone on the committee is passionate about community inclusion and we are very inspired by our new name and logo, which was designed by a local student who brought their diverse viewpoint to show what the work our committee does means to them,” added Silvestri.
The new logo depicts a dragonfly inside a bright yellow sun, representing the values and goals of the Inclusive Action Committee – growth, empathy, inclusion, community, fun, and, transitions. The tagline reads “Empowering Growth for Bright Futures.”
Representatives will be presenting the new branding at the Inclusion Action Committee’s annual Transition Resource Fair, which this year is included with Work BC’s MOMENTUM Economic Growth & Success Expo on Thursday, May 22.
“The committee’s Transition Resource Fair is usually held as a separate event,” explained Leanne Koehn, with Ridge Meadows Recycling Society’s Employment Skills Program.
“Work BC’s offer to combine the two events provides greater opportunities to youth exploring what life after high school looks like to them, whether this is employment, training programs, becoming more engaged in the community, post- secondary education, or something else entirely.”
The Transition Resource Fair part of MOMENTUM, which is designed specifically for students, will take place on Thursday, May 22, from 1– 2:30 p.m. at Thomas Haney Secondary School, 23000 216 Street, Maple Ridge.
Here, students, their families, and/or caregivers will have the opportunity to learn more about post-secondary education, employment services, recreational and social activities, financial planning advice, transportation assistance, and more.
Students can also attend the evening sessions of MOMENTUM from 4-7 p.m., also at Thomas Haney Secondary, which will include an expanded job hiring fair and two discussion panels.
For more information on the Inclusion Action Committee, its members, and its work, go to: www.inclusionac.org or www.facebook.com/inclusionac/.
