Although the Facebook page What's Up Cochrane was established in 2016, the Cochrane Youth Council are hoping more youth will give it a 'like'.

Cochrane Youth Council is using social media to encourage youth to become more engaged and involved in the community. The purpose of the page is to share events, opportunities and resources for youth and to make the information more accessible and at their level.

Kassidy Gerhardi, President of Cochrane Youth Council, shares up until this point she has singlehandedly managed the page but is excited to see others take an interest in the hope more youth will get involved. "Over the summer and up until this point I have run the page, but after some struggles with balancing and managing the page with my school work and extracurricular things, I have decided to divide the workload amongst this year's Youth Council members as they are equally as passionate about the potential of the page as I am."

Gerhardi, adds they are hoping the page takes off and become an 'information hub' to engage local Cochrane youth. "We would like to see the page become a place where students could go to look for something fun to do over the weekend, volunteer opportunities, information on youth helplines and everything in between. Amongst my peers, something I hear a lot of is 'I don't know what to do this weekend, or but that's for little kids, or I'm not old enough'. I feel like for kids between the ages 12-17 there is a lack of opportunities or a way to communicate those opportunities that are available to this age group. I know there are organizations in the community who do make an effort to include this group but that information is not hitting everyone."

Getting the information out is challenging considering the age group they are trying to hit. "It's just hard for our age group to find out about such opportunities because most 15-year-olds don't read the paper, and actually, we are finding that most 13-year-olds don't even use Facebook. So to adapt to the very specific way our age group has of communicating, the Youth Council is considering exploring the possibility of using Instagram as a mode of communication for What's Up Cochrane as well."

Gerhardi, would love to encourage businesses, organizations or event groups that are offering opportunities specific to youth ages 12-17, to contact them. "Feel free to directly message the page and share them with us so we can share the info on our page! And also, give us a 'like'. While the page was specifically made with youth in mind, there is info on there that anyone in the community would find interesting."

It was also brought up at a recent Cochrane Youth Council meeting that as numbers of youth using the site increases, forums for just teens could be introduced to improve communication and engagement among Cochrane's 12-17-year-old population.

If you would like to join and give a 'like' to What's Up Cochrane go HERE.