The Do It Yourself Project (DIY) is an initiative of the Municipal Youth Council (MYC). The purpose is to find out how small pots of money can help you, as young people, plan your own ‘play’ activities.

Young people, for the purpose of this project, are defined as being between 14 and 24. ‘Play’ is defined as the activities that you participate in during your leisure time – dance, drama, a community service project, sports, music, volunteering. Just think of PLAY as Planning Leisure Activities for Youth and you’ve got it!

We believe that you, as competent and capable youth, can plan play programs that don’t cost a fortune, don’t require a lot of adult involvement or approval, can attract a lot of different youth, and are more creative than what might normally be offered. If we’re right, then you can build a case for funding that proves a little money goes a long way. The goal is to have more funders understand how even small investments in youth can get very big returns.

Any group of youth can apply for this money. Your group can be an informal one, such as a group of friends who like to hang out together. It can be a new group that has specifically come together to apply for this grant. Or, yours could be a formal youth club or council or team or class at school. We want different types of youth to apply so that we can learn what different groups think about play, how they plan it, and how they work together to make it happen!

A total of $12,000 is available. This amount will be split up among the six wards of Chatham-Kent ($2,000 per ward). That way, there will be a mix of urban and rural projects.

To apply, download the application on the right side of this page.