100 Kids Ottawa encourages youth to help support local charities

Abraham, left, and Grace Brosha are photographed outside their home in Ottawa Wednesday March 21, 2018.

Abraham, left, and Grace Brosha are photographed outside their home in Ottawa Wednesday March 21, 2018. Children from all over the city gather four times a year, each bringing $10 of their own spending money. They listen to three of their peers present on three different charities or non-profit organizations. After the presentations, all of the children vote on the organization of their choice, and the organization with the most votes gets the pooled donation from all of the children. TONY CALDWELL/ POSTMEDIA

While some kids look forward to spending their allowance on treats or toys, 11-year-old Grace Brosha wants to give to charity instead.

Before her family moved to Ottawa in the summer of 2017, Grace and her younger brother, Abraham, were active participants in a group called 100 Kids Halifax, which saw children donating a portion of their allowances to a local charity.

“I just really liked that we could help so many people and that it didn’t really take much effort. To save up the money — the $10 per meeting — it’s only 83 cents a week. It’s less than a dollar,” Brosha said.

With the kids in a new city and missing the group they had become so close with, Brosha’s parents joked that they should start one in Ottawa.

“I thought it was a really good idea and so I set one up at school (École St-Francois D’Assise) with two of my friends. Once they learned about it, we thought we should actually get this thing going,” Brosha says.

And thus 100 Kids Ottawa was born.

The new movement invites children ages six to 16 to donate $10 of their allowance to a local charity once every three months. Although charity nominations are encouraged, only three candidates will be chosen to present a two- or three-minute pitch. A vote will then take place to choose the charity or non-profit organization.

The inaugural meeting will take place 6:30 p.m. Thursday at city hall, with Mayor Jim Watson and Kitchissippi ward Coun. Jeff Leiper in attendance and giving support to the young group. 

“Councillors can sometimes struggle to hear from kids and I’ve had more than a few times this term when something a young person said changed my perspective,” Leiper says.

Brosha admits that she is “pretty nervous but also really excited” about the event, and said 100 Kids Ottawa will continue promoting and getting the word out to national capital youth with each meeting.

Children and parents who wish to register for the event can do so through the 100 Kids Ottawa website.

“We’ve got about 30 registrations and a few people at school that are coming that haven’t registered yet. We’ve got all three of our nominations,” Brosha said.

In addition to making new friends and learning about local charities, kids can also expect some cookies, donated by Bridgehead Coffee.