SEEDS OF HOPE
For many, living in an urban area comes at the expense of developing a meaningful relationship and connection with nature. To raise consciousness and plant seeds of connectedness, garden workshops and community gatherings were held to empower youth in the Guilford community to cultiavte a personal and reciprocal relationship with nature. UBC Student Project Lead: Kiara […]
SEXUAL HEALTH WORKSHOPS FOR HOMELESS YOUTH
Sexual health workshops provided by healthcare experts, resources, and care packages were offered to homeless youth to promote safe sex practices. Workshops and resource creation centred on diverse, inclusive, and non-binary sexual health and education. UBC Student Project Leads: Sriya Srivastava, Nana Yamamoto Community Partner: Covenant House Vancouver Grant Type: Connect 2 Community Grant Year of […]
MEMORIES OF MARPOLE
This project invited people from the Marpole community to gather, connect, and share about their connections to the neighbourhood through Art. These creative opportunities to explore the Memories of Marpole were collected and incorporated into a final art piece shared with the community. UBC Student Project Lead: Catiyana Adam Community Partner: Marpole Neighbourhood House Grant Type: […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
NAVIGATING THE PATH TOWARDS POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION AND LIFE AFTER HIGH SCHOOL FOR REFUGEE AND NEWCOMER YOUTH
This project featured three workshops for newcomer youth transitioning from high school to post-secondary. It featured a guest speaker with lived experience who went on to study law, in addition to others from various professional fields, and a tour of UBC Vancouver’s campus. Additionally, the students were assigned university mentors for support during the university […]
DTES ART ENGAGEMENT PROJECT
This project included eighteen arts and crafts workshops over six months, at various downtown eastside (DTES) locations. The goal of this project was to harness the transformative power of art as a means to alleviate the burden of mental health challenges faced by many DTES residents. This project led to the establishment of the Downtown […]
SPICING UP SCIENCE
This “Spicing Up Science” trip provided young students with an opportunity to be inspired, excited, and interested in STEM through engaging lessons about a variety of scientific concepts using food – a relatable medium. Together with Flavourful Science, workshops were created to provide interactive and educational lessons within elementary classrooms. Two 3-hour workshops at elementary […]
SERVING THE SURREY FOOD BANK’S TINY BUNDLES PROGRAM
Since 1983, the Surrey Food Bank has been assisting low-income individuals and families who live in Surrey and North Delta by providing bi-weekly food hampers. Tiny Bundles is a program specially designed for pregnant moms and families with babies. Currently, the clients at Surrey Food Bank have increased by 21-22% and donations have decreased by […]
ACCESS TO GENDER-AFFIRMING CARE IN TERRANCE, BC
Foundry Terrace is a hub for trans healthcare. They provide integrated wellness services for youth 12–24 years old. This project worked to 1) connect gender-diverse youth with one another and with the resources Foundry offers, and 2) empower these youth to live full lives with access to information, role models, stories, and supplies. A series […]
THE STREETWAVE SKATEBOARD FEATURE
While the Metro Vancouver skateboard community has grown closer because of this space, it has been more difficult to engage the non-skateboarding community in the neighbourhood. Britannia Courts’ adjacency to Britannia Secondary School presents a unique opportunity to connect the two communities by providing a transformative learning experience for high school students. The Connect to […]