@youngfreepress

Throughout this pandemic we have come to know the feeling of nearly losing our minds because we are unable to be around others. This has given us time to dream about creating places where we can gather. Quarantine is so boring, but gradually we will be able to return to public spaces. Looking at St. Thomas specifically, how can we really make our city a wonderful, welcoming place once we are finally set free? There are so many exciting possibilities!

Jun 11

Jun 11 Presenting the Westlake-Evans Civic Park and ‘Track to the Future’ Mural Project

On Thursday, June 11th, our team at young & free press announced an extraordinary donation of $750,000 from the Estate of Donna Vera Evans Bushell to the City of St. Thomas. This contribution includes $500,000 to support the establishment of the new Westlake-Evans Civic Park downtown, as well as $250,000 to boost the ‘Track to the Future’ mural project that will be coordinated through Railway City Tourism. We are very excited to help St. Thomas take another step toward becoming a major street art destination in Ontario.

Jun 10

Jun 10 Supporting the St. Thomas Elevated Park and Launching the New ‘Art, Trees & Trails’ Project

Andrew Gunn and Maddie King of young & free press are acting as consultants on the Estate of Donna Vera Evans Bushell. On Wednesday, June 10, we announced a donation of $100,000 to enhance the St. Thomas Elevated Park, as well as $115,000 to support the launch of the new ‘Art, Trees & Trails’ project in collaboration with the St. Thomas Elgin Public Art Centre. Another $100,000 has been given to the Elgin St. Thomas Community Foundation to establish the ‘Evans Tree Fund’, which will support tree-planting in the community for decades to come.

Jun 8

Jun 8 Announcing the New ‘Evans Tree Fund’ at the Elgin St. Thomas Community Foundation

Our team at young & free press is very excited to announce that the Estate of Donna Vera Evans Bushell is contributing $1.25M to the Elgin – St. Thomas Community Foundation to support a series of projects in the Elgin County and St. Thomas area. With $100,000, the Foundation will establish the ‘Evans Tree Fund’, which will be a permanent fund that supports tree-planting in the community. The rest of the funds will be allocated to launch a series of remarkable projects across Elgin County and St. Thomas. More announcements will follow soon.

May 28

May 28 Introducing the New "Evans Sisters’ Water Trail"

Through a donation of $155,000 from the Estate of Donna Vera Evans Bushell, the Kettle Creek Conservation Authority will be creating the first ‘water trail’ in Elgin County by allowing enhanced public access to the Dalewood Reservoir and Kettle Creek and purchasing canoes and kayaks for community members and visitors to use.

May 14

May 14 Our GROW Pop-Up Shop is Growing!

On May 14, 2020, the St. Thomas Economic Development Corporation announced a new artist development program in conjunction with GROW, the Elgin/St. Thomas Small Business Enterprise Centre, and Railway City Tourism. GROW began in 2019 as a short-term pop-up retail space available to small businesses looking to test a brick and mortar model. Through feedback from users, the partnership is being redeveloped into a longer-term accelerator space that will open in the Caboose at the Jumbo Memorial as soon as it is feasible to do so in accordance with COVID-19 reopening phases. The GROW program is possible through a partnership with Fanshawe College. Financial support for the project has been generously provided by a private donor in collaboration with Andrew Gunn Consulting & our team at young & free press.

May 6

May 6 Food for Thought: How the Pandemic is Changing Our Relationship with What We Eat

Sophie Mutch

London, St Thomas

During the pandemic, I have definitely noticed through speaking with my extended family and on social media that many people are stretching out their food supply as much as possible. This leads me to this question: when things return to normal, will the same standard apply?

May 5

May 5 Five Ways That High School Students Can Get Through the Pandemic

Emily Stage

This pandemic is tough on everyone. We are cooped up in the house all day, unable to see anyone. It feels like there’s really nothing to do and it can be very hard to stay positive in a time like this. From the teenage perspective, we want to be free and go out, and we really miss our friends who we are used to seeing every day at school.

Apr 26

Apr 26 The Teenage Perspective on Seniors During COVID-19

Alex Popen

Throughout the course of this pandemic, we have noticed the effects on our social lives, relationships, businesses, families and friends. What has the impact been so far on seniors, who contribute so much to our communities as cherished family members, volunteers and donors?

Apr 22

Apr 22 Work-in-Progress: Online Learning During COVID-19

Maddie King

London, St Thomas

Online schooling has been in place for a little less than a month now. When the announcement that we would be beginning online classes first came out, I was a bit worried. I’ve never taken an online class before, so I was unsure of how this would fit into my life.

Mar 29

Mar 29 The Impact of COVID-19 on High School Students

Maddie King

St Thomas, London

The past few weeks have been very confusing for students. One of the hardest parts of the COVID-19 outbreak has been the overwhelming sense of uncertainty. There are many questions: Will we be returning to school this year? Will we be starting online classes? For high school seniors, the biggest question is obvious: will we be graduating this year? If not, what happens to our post-secondary plans? We have been given no answers, and that is scary.

Mar 29

Mar 29 High School Derailed

Isabelle Paradis

St Thomas, London

March 2020 was supposed to be a fun month for me. Starting off with celebrating my 18th birthday, I would follow that with a week-long vacation in Cozumel, a Billie Eilish concert in Detroit, and the chance to see a production of Hamilton: An American Musicalat the Ed Mirvish Theatre in Toronto. All of those plans were quickly derailed within a few days. Postponed family celebrations, shortened trips and cancelled performances became my new reality.

Oct 7

Oct 7 How We Spent Our Summer in Ontario’s Southwest

London, Norfolk County, St Thomas

Just like driving to a concert and feeling excited for the show, our team at young & free press has developed a way to travel to a community and imagine the whole setting as the performance. We call this life-art … the experience may contain music, paintings, theatre, sculptures, books, virtual reality, sports, businesses, video games, natural environments, culinary experiences, and roadside attractions, but we like to imagine the total picture.

Aug 13

Aug 13 Homeless in St. Thomas

Jenn Klassen

Recently Andrew Gunn and I met with Sandy Westaway, who runs the Inn Out of the Cold shelter in St. Thomas. Needless to say, I learned a lot about the homeless people in our small town and the details shocked me.

Jul 15

Jul 15 New Street Art Projects Coming to St. Thomas

Feeling the need for a jolt of energy to renew the landscape of downtown St. Thomas, multiple organizations and individuals have come together with the aim of making the city one of the true ‘street art capitals’ of Canada!

Apr 26

Apr 26 Exploring Ontario's Southwest

London, Norfolk County, St Thomas

One thing that our young & free press team has learned since we started-up the business is that there are remarkable things happening every day in our communities … we just have to jump in and explore! Well, we now have the opportunity to take this spirit to a whole new level: beginning this spring, we will be collaborating with the Southwest Ontario Tourism Corporation to present some fun new content on our Instagram page!

Apr 25

Apr 25 GROW Time!

Our team at young & free press loves to collaborate with community partners on fun, innovative projects. What’s next? Well, we are excited to help establish new ‘pop-up shops’ around southwestern Ontario, beginning with the first site in our home-base of St. Thomas!

Feb 16

Feb 16 Concert Announcement: Hawksley Workman

Our team at young & free press is excited to announce that we are partnering with the Elgin Theatre Guild to present Hawksley Workman at the Princess Ave Playhouse in St. Thomas on Monday, May 20th – the perfect way to finish off the May long weekend!

Feb 13

Feb 13 'Little Free Libraries' Coming to St. Thomas!