It was a cooler day in downtown Steinbach. And without the heat, rain or smokey conditions, some might have even called it a perfect lunch hour as many came out to another Taste of Summer Charity BBQ in front of the Steinbach Credit Union.

Photos and video courtesy of YFC SteinbachWednesday’s beneficiary was Youth For Christ Steinbach and Youth Worker, Allen Penner couldn’t be more pleased with the amount of $1874.55 donated today. 

When asked where this money would be going Penner says, “Anyone that came out to buy any hot dogs, drinks, chips, and made a donation, all that money is going directly to our Impact Fund. That's the fund where, if we're doing a drop-in night and we need to get some food for youth that haven't had lunch. It's taken straight out of the Impact Fund and we make sure they have some food. Or, let's say you know that the skate park gets good use. Sometimes we need to fix the ramps. You know, there's an easy way to make sure the skate park stays in good condition. So, all donations go directly to helping the youth.”

Penner continues and says that at YFC Steinbach, it’s really about making connections. For each YFC staff person, one-on-one time with each youth is very important.

“This past year, there were times where we weren't able to do the drop-in centre thing, but we still made sure that we were connecting with those youths that really needed that connection.

In December and January, we saw a lot of youths go through some really intense mental struggles, so we were showing up a lot, for them in that time. There were lots of youths that we're dealing with, with suicide ideations and so it got a little intense in January, but summer has been better. It's been enjoyable.”

And when it comes to making those one-on-one connections, staff at YFC have had opportunities to get really creative. Penner explains.

“Yesterday, some of our staff actually took some youths fishing, which was really cool. And one of our younger youths actually reeled in the hugest fish. They think it was like 36 inches long or something, so they're going to fry it up.”

When it comes to making connections Penner says,

“We've been able to do some sort of drop-in almost the entire time, which is really good. Now the Drop-In centre is starting to feel like it's getting back to normal. There's a lot of youth coming out and we've been able to just have tons of really good conversations. One cool thing is that we're just now able to serve food again and that's the best connection.”

Penner shares how YFC Steinbach has survived financially during the pandemic.

“This year is looking just wild. You know, every organization has had to shift a lot of things and so the same with us. But one thing that's been really great is the support of the community. We have not had to wonder, where the funding is going to come from, because people are generous.”

YFC Steinbach is a chartered member of Youth for Christ Canada. An international, non-denominational Christian ministry that, for over 75 years, has passionately engaged young people to live their full like potential as designed by God. 

The final 2021 Taste of Summer Charity BBQ is taking place next week Wednesday, we’ll be accepting your donations for Eastman Special Olympics.