Student teaches life skills through The How? Project

By David Yin, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

Elliot Atherton, a Markham resident and student at Trent University, launched The How? Project to help his community learn essential life skills.

The How? Project is a weekly session in which a local expert teaches residents a particular life skill. These sessions take place every Saturday until Aug. 23 at a booth in the Main Street Markham Farmers’ Market, which is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Topics change weekly and have included vehicle maintenance, phone navigation, and clothes mending.

Atherton said that he based his project off of his own desire to learn various life skills, such as “changing a tire [or] fixing a leaky faucet.” He added that as an adult, he could turn his desire to learn into a teaching opportunity for his community.

His goal is to let people know that for each skill, “this isn’t something that’s difficult. This is something that you can do and… continue to learn.”

Atherton said that Trent University’s Impact Microgrant Program helped him set up The How? Project. The Impact Microgrant Program grants people – aged 15 to 30 – training, education, and a $5,000 microgrant to carry out an initiative that benefits their communities.

According to him, the hardest part of running The How? Project is finding an expert for each session. However, members of his community have responded positively. He added that some people have given him ideas and contacts for more sessions.

“It has really been a give-and-take with the community where they’ve been helping me just as much as I’m hopefully helping them,” he said.

Atherton said that those looking to make an impact can seek out other people for help. He listed professors, teaching assistants, other students, and the university’s administration as examples for students.

For more details, visit @the_how_project on Instagram or The How? Project on Facebook.

Photo: The How? Project held a session about vehicle maintenance on June 28. (Photo courtesy of Elliot Atherton)