Local student club celebrates Pride with significant community initative
A group of students at Elmvale District High School is celebrating Pride by putting forth a community initiative.
"We all need a chance to be represented," says Grade 8 student Kate Hvalica.
Hvalica is a member of the Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) at school.
Club member and Grade 9 student Madison Ritchie says they focus on equality for all students at the school. "Just to make sure that everybody feels seen and heard."
The club is working on multiple different projects to spread awareness about inclusivity. This month, club members put up billboards and artwork around the school to celebrate Pride.
"We have this billboard, it says 'Coming Out' on it. The GSA put a lot of effort into putting this together," says Hvalica.
On Thursday, the group hosted a first-ever GSA virtual summit for schools across Simcoe County. Students around the region joined the conference to learn about Pride.
But the most significant project they are working on is getting a rainbow crosswalk in the village.
"We had seen other ideas from schools and areas where they had developed a crosswalk, and we thought, you know what, that's just the thing our community needs," Hvalica says.
Elmvale council unanimously approved the initiative a few weeks ago after GSA students gave a presentation during a council meeting.
"The idea for the rainbow crosswalk was something that we thought of in bigger communities, but not in a rural community like Elmvale, and it was so important to them. They brought the initiative forward," says Elmvale District High School librarian Amanda Kennedy.
The students say they plan to have the crosswalk painted outside the library in town.
"People seeing that it's really going to raise awareness of a group that's underrepresented in our community," says Ritchie.
The students plan to host fundraising initiatives over the next year to raise money for the crosswalk. They hope it will be installed in the village by spring 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada Disability Benefit needs to be safeguarded from clawbacks, MPs unanimously agree
The federal government needs to safeguard the incoming Canada Disability Benefit from clawbacks and do more to ensure it actually meets the stated aim of lifting people living with disabilities out of poverty, MPs from all parties agree.
BREAKING Security guard shot, seriously injured outside of Drake's Toronto mansion
A security guard working at Drake’s Bridle Path mansion in Toronto was seriously injured in a shooting outside the residence early Tuesday morning, police said.
King Charles too busy to see son Prince Harry during U.K. trip
Prince Harry will not be seeing his father King Charles during his current visit to Britain as the monarch will be too busy, Harry's spokesperson said on Tuesday.
opinion Tom Mulcair: Turfing Poilievre from House a clear sign of desperation by Trudeau Liberals
When Speaker Greg Fergus tossed out Pierre Poilievre from the House last week, "those of us who have experience as parliamentarians simply couldn't believe our eyes," writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his column for CTVNews.ca
Your body needs these three forms of movement every week
Movement is movement, right? Not exactly. Here’s what your body is looking for in addition to your morning walk or yoga session, according to experts.
Six Canadian children repatriated from detention in Syria, Global Affairs Canada says
The Global Affairs Department says six Canadian children have been repatriated from detention in northeastern Syria.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Canadian cadets rock mullets and place second at U.S. military competition
Sporting mullets, Canadian Armed Forces officer cadets placed second in an annual military skills competition in the U.S.
TikTok, ByteDance sue to block U.S. law seeking sale or ban of app
TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance said on Tuesday they filed suit in U.S. federal court seeking to block a law signed by President Joe Biden that would force the divestiture of the short video app used by 170 million Americans or ban its use.