W.C. Miller Collegiate's Youth in Philanthropy (YiP) group in Altona recently presented donations to four local organizations.

The group of students donated a total of $1,700, with help from Altona Community Foundation. The $663 YiP raised through two fundraisers was matched $1 to $1 by the Foundation. The remainder came from the YiP account held by ACF.

Altona YFC/The Station received $500 to upgrade the building's rear deck and add outdoor lighting to enhance the experience of kids who visit the facility.

"Which helps for safety and just makes it a more inviting place for kids in general," said Sheridan Sawatzky. "So we're looking forward to making that a useful space."

"(This donation) is a little bit more special because this one's being chosen by teens, by the kids we're impacting, so the fact that they see us as a valuable asset to the community and want to support us, that's always a good thing too," said Marty Falk.

Katie Cares in Winkler received $400 to purchase tables for Katie's Cottage, a place for families to stay when their loved one is being cared for at Boundary Trails Health Centre. The tables are multipurpose and can be used for anything from playing games to eating.

"So that they have one more thing that makes their stay a little bit easier," said Ruth Reimer, the executive director for Katie's Cottage.

"The YiP group themselves have worked very hard, and so we as an organization want to work just as hard with the money that they've given and entrusted us with so that we do good work with that money," Reimer said.

Kiddie Sunshine Centre received $500 to buy iPads to improve communication with parents involved with the daycare.

Rhineland and Area Food Bank was given $300 to purchase a laptop for the administrator.

"It's really interesting because right now (the cheque) is just a piece of paper that you hand over to this person but ... when you see that physical embodiment of helping the community it's really great," said Jossie Yan, a member of YiP and the school's student council president.