Andrew likes to ‘DREAM BIG!” he tells us. When he took on the role of Director of the New Hope Youth Centre last year, he and his new team of part-time staff quickly moved from being open for just one night a week to 6 nights a week, with the addition of a weekly offsite Bible Study. 

The Centre is seeing steady growth, and kids are coming back regularly. NHYC held a Christmas lunch this past December and had so many kids come out they had to hold a second (unscheduled!) sitting just to fit in everyone.  

With chili suppers, community pool/waterslide outings, bonfires, arts & crafts night, outdoor winter activities, and more, and you can see where “Dream big!” was a terrific attitude to get this Centre up to full operation. And, of course, local volunteers are key to making this work.

We asked Andrew to tell us about one of the challenges he has faced. He explained that he had to adjust to a cultural difference when spending a lot of time with First Nations youth. Time is “flexible” he answered. “I think this laid-back culture lends itself to connecting with people and loving people…I now create a lot of space in my day to make room for people.”