PROMOTING HEALTH LITERACY IN NEWCOMER CHILDREN
Immigrant and refugee populations in Canada often face complex challenges in accessing health literacy due to language barriers and the navigation of different cultural views of science and health approaches. Health literacy is important to early health promotion, education to empower patients to self-advocate, and prevent treatment non-compliance. This project helped decrease gaps in health […]
COMMUNITY BAKING WORKSHOPS
Free baking workshops were offered to vulnerable populations in Vancouver to create opportunities for social connection and community inclusion for people experiencing housing instability, developmental disabilities, criminal justice involvement, and mental health concerns. Through sharing experiences in baking delicious food, these workshops created a supportive environment which helped decrease social isolation within marginalized communities and […]
RICHMOND COMMUNITY HEAT RELIEF STATION
Extreme weather events in recent years have disproportionately impacted vulnerable and marginalized community members, including seniors, low-income households, and new immigrants. This project hosted cooling stations which provided immediate heat relief to community members by offering cooled refreshments, sunscreens, hand fans, and resources on extreme heat protection. These events further helped raise about how to […]
GENCONNECT APNA MELA
The Apna Mela 2024 was a free festival created to increase intergenerational connections between youth and seniors within local South Asian and Punjabi communities. This festival focused on decreasing social isolation among seniors in these communities by creating opportunities for youth and seniors to connect over workshops centred around culture, food, heritage, and traditions. UBC […]
EMPOWERING INDIGENOUS YOUTH THROUGH STEMM WORKSHOPS
A free workshop series was curated and offered to Indigenous Youth, ages 13 to 21, across Metro Vancouver to learn more about STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Medicine) careers directly from Indigenous professionals working in these industries. These professionals presented on their career journey, answered questions, and offered career guidance. Resources discussing Indigenous educational and […]
TAKING STRIDES – TOWARDS INCLUSIVE SPORTS FOR YOUTH WITH DISABILITIES
Although affordable sports programs are often available for younger children with disabilities, these programs frequently have age cutoffs that shut out older youth with disabilities (YWD) from participating. This project collaborated with the Taking Strides Children Foundation to increase accessibility of summer programs for older YWD by offering sports sessions led by professional coaches experienced […]
“EVERY OTHER MONDAY” EAST VAN MIGRANT WORKERS POETRY COLLECTIVE
The East Van Migrant Workers Poetry Collective is a project which invited migrant workers across the Joyce-Collingwood neighbourhood area to form a solidarity network of mutual aid, political education (e.g. tenant rights workshops), and cultural-oriented craft work (e.g. poetry reading/writing). Poetry writing sessions, events, and zines were organized and created to offer migrant workers creative […]
WELLNESS POD: HEALTHY TEACHERS HEALTHY CHILDREN
Teachers and advisors make up 7% of the workforce in BC, and there has been little focus on improving working conditions to support their mental health. Carolina’s project hopes to bring the conceptualized “Wellness Pod” to life, a space designed with biophilic principles in mind meant to maximize wellness recuperation throughout an educator’s day. The […]
COLLABORATING WITH THE NISGA’A VALLEY TO INDIGENIZE CHANGE BC
In partnership with the Nisga’a Valley Health Authority, Truman’s project aims to facilitate the incorporation of Indigenous-led, traditional, and land-based physical activities within kinesiology exercise prescriptions normally delivered in primary care settings. By engaging with 4 Nisga’a communities through discussions and sharing circles, traditional and/or land-based physical activities will be identified and implemented in collaboration […]
UBC Let’s Talk Science’s SMaRT Program Wraps Up with a Successful Year
The Scientific Methods and Research Techniques (SMaRT) program from UBC Let’s Talk Science has concluded for the year, marking a major success in promoting scientific education among BC youth. Impact and Outreach This year, 57 exceptional volunteers dedicated their time to create 11 innovative and engaging science activities. These resources will be available for use […]
UBC Let’s Talk Science School Partnerships Program Enhances STEM Education in Metro Vancouver
This term, the UBC Let’s Talk Science School Partnerships Program (SPP) has been actively enhancing K-12 education opportunities across Metro Vancouver. Our dedicated UBC volunteers have been delivering engaging, hands-on STEM activities to young learners, enriching their understanding and appreciation of science. Collaborations with UBC Clubs This year, SPP had the exciting opportunity to collaborate […]
Let’s Talk Climate Action Symposium: Inspiring Change for the Future
From April 2nd to April 15th, the UBC Centre for Community Engaged Learning’s Let’s Talk Science and McMaster Let’s Talk Science programs co-hosted the Let’s Talk Climate Action symposium for high school students. This hybrid event included a virtual talk and panel discussion, an online workshop, and on-campus activities aimed at fostering critical thinking and […]
Exploring the Impact of Social Media with INFO 250
Curious about what community-engaged learning looks like in practice? Discover how community-engaged learning transforms students and organizations alike in this collaboration between INFO 250 students Vitor Moreno, Kaylan Mah, Morrison Tulloch, Nico Peloia, and the False Creek Friends Society. INFO250 is an undergraduate course in UBC’s Bachelor of Media Studies and Minor in Informatics. In […]
EQUIPPING SOUTH-ASIAN YOUTH WITH CULTURALLY-SENSITIVE OVERDOSE RESPONSE AND PREVENTION TRAINING
Together with the Students Overcoming Substance Use Disorder and Addictions Society of Canada, this project sought to address the ongoing substance use and overdose crisis in the South Asian community. Through a culturally sensitive workshop series, high-school students from 4 different schools were equipped with overdose response and prevention training. The workshops were available in […]
EMPOWERING NEWCOMER COMMUNITIES WITH ENGLISH-LANGUAGE LEARNING RESOURCES
With the growing rate of newcomers joining the Vancouver community, there arose a need to develop more English language learning resources to better equip volunteers with the tools they need to support the newcomer community. To meet this need, an online webpage was developed, in partnership with ISSofBC as the central platform for volunteers to […]
BUILDING CAPACITY AMONG MIGRANT WORKERS THROUGH ENGLISH LANGUAGE WORKSHOPS
Migrant agricultural workers (MAWs) have historically worked within challenging environments and faced a multitude of barriers accessing safety-training, information about workers’ rights and knowledge pertaining to emergency preparedness. This project aimed to bridge this gap by providing culturally appropriate occupational health and safety workshops along with English language classes tailored to emergencies. Through this initiative, […]
MALE-INCLUSIVE SUICIDE RESPONSE TRAINING PROGRAM
In Canada, men are reported to have the highest rates of death by suicide and despite this heightened risk, there is a clear lack of male-inclusive mental health response programs nationally. In partnership with the Canadian Centre for Men and Families Vancouver (CCMF-V), free male-inclusive suicide response training program workshops were facilitated across British Columbia […]
IMPROVING MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT FOR MEN: TRAUMA AND GENDER-INFORMED COACHING
The harmful stigmas associated with male mental health has led to alarming rates of suicide and depression amongst men and the absence of adequate support systems for especially vulnerable populations. To address this issue, 12 volunteers were trained in compassion, trauma and gender-informed coaching principles to provide structured one-on-one services for clients. Working with the […]
BLACK ACCESS NETWORK
In partnership with Black Block Association (BBA), Delali’s project, “Hire Black Youth Initiative”, facilitated greater access to career opportunities for black youth in Vancouver. In partnership with organizations that pledge to support the representation and empowerment of black youth, an online job matching platform was created, featuring access to mentorship, skills training and skills development […]
INCREASING ACCESS AND REPRESENTATION: VOLENTIA HEALTHCARE TRANSLATION
Each year, over 300,000 new immigrants from diverse sociocultural backgrounds relocate to Canada. Language barriers remain a significant obstacle to the provision of equitable healthcare among these communities. By partnering with S.U.C.C.E.S.S, Lynda worked to advance equitable healthcare in Canada by providing free healthcare translation services to immigrants, newcomers, and those with low English-language proficiency, […]
EMPOWERMENT IN HEALTHCARE: VACCINE & HEALTH-RELATED LITERACY WORKSHOPS FOR NEWCOMER WOMEN
Research has highlighted a lack of health literacy in newcomer demographics. This has been exacerbated by frequent changes to guidelines and restrictions seen throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Through this collaborative project with PIRS (Pacific Immigrant Resources Society), Emilie created a toolkit of healthcare resources, complete with workshops, infographics, and condensed pamphlets fully translated into multiple […]