Niagara’s Active Citizens Meet On The Bus – With Special Guest Wesley Prankard, a nationally recognized active citizen . . . and he’s 13 years old!

Submitted to Niagara At Large by Jennifer Sinclair

This Wednesday evening, February 22, 2012 a group of Niagara’s active citizens will be Meeting on the Bus to discuss how active citizenship can build a better Niagara.

Click on the image above to blow it up to full screen for information on the bus schedule and the location of stops for this 'Meeting On The Bus' event

The event is part of a grass-roots initiative known as Meetings on the Bus which provides a unique forum for people who want to engage in issues affecting the Niagara Region.  The initiative is comprised of two complementary components: “Meetings” and “On the Bus”.

“Meetings” is a way for citizens to get together to discuss pressing issues within Niagara.  These meetings empower active citizenship by bringing together a diverse group of people to share ideas and build networks.  “On the Bus” is a way for citizens to support the new regional public transportation system. By using the bus as a public meeting space, citizens can support the new service during its critical start-up phase.

Meetings on the Bus co-founder, Jeffrey Sinclair, says “I think that to create a robust democracy citizens must actively participate by claiming their own rights and resolving issues that are important to them.  I think that voter apathy has risen because many wonderful people have forgotten how to make a difference in their community.  Hopefully Meetings on the Bus can jolt their memory.”

The theme of Wednesday’s ride is Active Citizenship, featuring special guest Wesley Prankard. The 13 year old Niagara Falls resident was recently named one of the top three All Star World Changers in North America – a contest created by Free the Children, National Hockey League and National Hockey League Players’ Association. 

Wesley is passionate about attaining equal rights for First Nations children so that they have access to a safe home, clean water, good education and, most importantly, the right to play.  For the past two years, Wesley has camped out the first few days of March break to raise awareness and funds for Attawapiskat and other First Nation reserves.  This year, his goal is to raise $500,000 by inspiring 100 kids across Canada to camp out and each raise $5,000. The “official” campout itself will take place from March 14th at 2:00pm to March 16th at 4:00pm. Interested parties may visit Wesley’s website at http://northernstarfish.org/ for more information.

Niagara citizens are invited to join us for the Meeting on the Bus on Wednesday, February 22nd starting at 6:10 p.m. when the Regional transit bus #70 pulls out of the downtown St. Catharines bus terminal.  The meeting, which will cost the $5 fare for the ride to Welland and back, is one you can join on any stop the bus makes between the two cities.  Just stay aboard for the conversation until the bus returns to the stop where it picked you up.  Event details are listed on http://meetingsonthebus.eventbrite.com/ .

The Meetings on the Bus initiative recently released a video about Active Citizenship in the Niagara Region, which can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6ye70VexRE&feature=youtu.be

 For more information, contact: Jennifer Sinclair, Co-Founder, Meetings on the Bus. Visit http://meetingsonthebus.tumblr.com/  or email createwithjenn@gmail.com .

Jennifer Sinclair is a Niagara resident, a graduate of Niagara College and a self-employed community development facilitator and project anagement consultant .

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