Not too long ago, Bailie Germs didn’t think much about the Kinistin Education Centre Business Club.
“I seriously didn’t see myself even going to more than one meeting,” said Germs, a recent graduate.
“Then I realized what it was all about and I was like, this might actually be something I could get into.”
Germs and a few other members of Tasty Towne Catering were busy setting up a meal of pulled pork and roasted potatoes for a Kinistin Saulteaux First Nation lands meeting March 10.
Tasty Towne is one of eight groups across the province that has a business club through the Aboriginal Youth Entrepreneurship Program.
Cyrus Smokeyday, a grad mentor at Kinistin, was up late the night before cooking with his wife. He andJoe Taylor guide the club members.
“We started with a t-shirt company and we had six designs and logos that the kids developed,” said Smokeyday. The club quickly found that catering was a more stable option.
“It has really caught on, especially in our community,” he said.
Smokeyday also helps students transition from the Kinistin Education Center to Tisdale Middle & Secondary School as part of the Kinawind Project.
Chief Greg Scott, who was on hand for the meeting, said he and his council have been supporting the club.
“We’ve been supporting it in every aspect because it’s giving our kids skills, it’s giving them skills that if you work for it, you’ll see a reward and the exposure that they’re getting through Joe and [Cyrus].”
Big dreams
Tehani Lumberjack has been in the club for a few months.
“I learned better cooking skills, better communication skills, just kind of learned to throw myself out there, to talk to people and not be so shy,” said Lumberjack, who is in Grade 9.
“I believe that one day my role [in the club] is going to be a more permanent role,” she said.
Germs is of the same opinion: she’d like to take on more responsibility and help guide future young club members.
“It keeps kids out of trouble and it gives them something that makes them feel like they’re worthy. In a way, it helps with the depression aspect of teenage years because it gives you something to look forward to, it gives you something to actually prove yourself for,” she said.
Before gaining new skills from the club, Germs would have found catering a large event to be overwhelming.
“I would have had a breakdown and started crying.”
But she’s learned a lot from the club’s first catering events: “time management, ways to control my anxiety, social skills, how to actually talk to people because I suck at that.”
Germs presented her experience with the club to Taylor and Randy Kerr, a TMSS principal. The presentation was a requirement for the special project credit Germs received for her participation in the business club.
She spoke about her experience living on reserve as “that one white girl.”
“This entire reserve is pretty much my family,” said Germs.
“It’s been amazing. Everybody I’ve encountered out here has been really welcoming, and they’re all kind of rooting for me. If something goes wrong, they don’t let me fall, they keep building me back up.”
Germs also spoke about how the business club is hoping to help the community in Kinistin.
“We are trying to save our community money, learn about traditional cultures by the means of meals, and to try and promote healthy eating as an alternative to fast and fried foods,” Germs told Kerr and Taylor in her presentation.
Tasty Towne Catering members do cooking, serving, cleanup, prep, marketing, accounting and purchasing.
