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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday June 20, 2007 - 27 Artscene Oakville Beaver · WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 2007 27 Teens have the write stuff for This is Me By Andrew Fruch SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER C reative expression is deeply personal for many people, and for those who want to share their work it can be difficult to find the right opportunity. But for a group of Halton youth, the perfect opportunity for them to share their talents became a reality. Last Thursday, the second edition of This Is Me -- a collection of poetry, short fiction, artwork and photography by local teens -- was launched at the Oakville Chapters as a number of spectators gathered to purchase copies of the book and listen to a few of the contributors as they read their selections. "There is a lot of writing out there targeted at youth, but most of it is not actually reflective of what teens think," said Katie Dupuis, editor of This Is Me. "We have to give them more credit. So with this book, we asked them to be their authentic selves." All the contributors in This Is Me were between the ages of 13-19. Writers were asked to submit an honest expression of themselves. The submissions could not be hateful towards anyone. The book was originally created as a ASHLEA WESSEL / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER BOOK LAUNCH:Ryan O'Donnell reads his submission -- Chillaxing -- during the launch of the second edition of This is Me at the Oakville Chapters last Thursday. fundraising initiative for the Oakville Youth Development Centre (OYDC). This year, the Halton Region in partnership with the Halton Regional Youth Advisory Committee (HRYAC) is supporting the book initiative. For the launch of This Is Me, Chapters agreed to donate 10 per cent of sales from the night of the launch to the HRYAC, which will go towards the cost of printing the third edition. All proceeds from the actual sale of the book, which costs $5, will be used to support youth centres in the region. The centres benefiting from the book are the OYDC of Oakville, Velocity in Burlington, Open Door in Georgetown, Off The Wall in Acton and The Deck in Milton. Putting This Is Me together took a lot of hard work to accomplish in a short amount of time considering the task. Work on this year's edition began in February. Dupuis hopes they will be able to take more time next year, and increase the scope of the third edition to include more submissions from local youth. "The whole project started as a small idea two years ago," said Dupuis. "And we wanted it to represent their (Halton youth) authentic voice. We wanted the teens to have free reign over the content and it has grown from there, so we expect more contributions next year." The Halton youth who took part in This Is Me showed the courage necessary to share their works of expression with the community. For many, it marked the first time they shared their work with anyone at all. & COMPANY Free Socks with Ever y Saucony Shoe Purchase * THE RUNNING LEADERS OF THE PACK Oakville's Original Running Store Great Selection of Running & Walking Shoes & Apparel *offer valid until June 30/07 118 Thomas Street Downtown Oakville 905-815-1952