Todays 2morrow is not quitting, it's growing.
This week the Chilliwack-based youth political organization announced it would be merging with the national Canadian Youth Federation (CYF) in an effort to reach a wider range of youth.
As a result Todays 2morrow will cease to exist effective immediately.
"We are not giving up on our vision, we are simply becoming a better organization," said 15-year-old William van Hoepen, founder of Todays 2morrow and new vice president of CYF.
Todays 2morrow was started last year by van Hoepen and 17-year-old Maxwell Gardner (who's since left the organization) in an effort to raise awareness and interest in politics amongst youth.
The visionary teens, who attended every political rally and all-candidates meetings in the last civic election, were disappointed with the lack of youth interest in politics. They vowed, with Todays 2morrow, to do whatever they could to change that.
In its first year Todays 2morrow attracted 30 members, mostly from Chilliwack. With the merger, it will now have a national presence that will include provincial boards in Newfoundland, Ontario, Alberta and B.C. Its membership will also grow to 190.
"That's a massive increase," said new CYF director of intelligence, Phillip van Huigenbos, 16, of Chilliwack. "It's going to give us a lot more diversity; we're going to be able to reach a lot more people."
CYF is an organization almost identical to Todays 2morrow with a mission of getting more youth politically aware and active.
When van Hoepen learned of the organization earlier this year, he knew he had to work with them, not against them.
"In order for us to be beneficial and make effective change, we needed to expand," said van Hoepen.
With this merger, "I personally believe we are about ready to take off big time."
For more information on CYF, visit its Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/CanadianYouthFederation or email info@canadianyouthfederation.ca.