The Central Okanagan Foundation celebrated its 40th Anniversary by awarding five deserving post-secondary students with a $1,500 scholarship from the newly-created Central Okanagan Foundation Volunteer Spirit Scholarship Fund.
Each of the five scholarship recipients is to be featured in an article that highlights their volunteer work and their education/career goals as part of this ‘COF Volunteer Spirit Scholarship Series’ between July 5 and July 14.
Wyatt Slattery was introduced to volunteerism by his mom, who would bring him along to help out with events at the YMCA of the Okanagan. It was from a young age that he learned how important it was to help others in the community. Slattery continued volunteering for the YMCA of the Okanagan putting on numerous events including raising $2,000 for the YMCA of Ethiopia to purchase books.
Slattery has had a variety of roles and gained valuable experience with organizations like Canadian Blood Services (CBS), Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), Kelowna General Hospital (KGH), the Society for the Arts in Dementia Care, and SwimAbility of which he is the President of the Okanagan chapter.
Having learned such a variety of skills from his volunteer experience over the years, Slattery wants to help other youth see the importance of volunteering in the community.
He is currently working toward registering the SwimAbility Okanagan chapter as a federally recognised non-profit organization in order to form a partnership with Change Gamers to inspire youth to get involved with volunteerism at an early age.
Slattery works hard to ensure that the great community he was fortunate to grow up in continues to offer positive opportunities to others who may not be as fortunate as himself. He plans to continue volunteering for KGH, CBS, SwimAbility, CMHA, and YMCA Okanagan, pledging 1000 volunteer hours over the next five years.
The Central Okanagan Foundation Volunteer Spirit Scholarship will pay for a full semester of his Bachelor of Science Degree program at UBCO. This means that he can take on fewer hours at work and focus on his studies which will increase the likelihood of gaining admission to medical school.
When he’s not volunteering, Slattery can be found camping, hiking, paddleboarding, competing in triathlons during the summer or skiing Big White in the winter. To relax, he likes to take part in painting events or attend local theatre productions.