Community Project Grant winners

Tina is a 2^nd year Science student working in partnership with the Youth Mental Health Association (YMHA). Through a series of workshops, they are introducing mental health wellbeing to elementary schools across East Vancouver. By exposing young students to the basic concept of mental health and wellness, Project Integrate aims to reduce the stigma associated with mental health and increase the awareness of services available to youth who may be encountering mental health issues.

Zeba is a 2^nd year Science student working in partnership with the Vancouver Brain Injury Association (VBIA) in creating a series of educational workshops for youth, teachers, and parents to raise awareness of brain injuries. Utilizing both existing and new programming, Zeba aims to bring VBIA’s knowledge of brain injuries into the classroom in fun and innovative ways. While also creating spaces for parents and teachers to come learn more about the misconceptions of brain injuries and the resources available to those impacted by it.

Vivian is in 1^st year Medicine, working with the Portland House Society (PHS) to lower the barriers between housing and those who need it. By creating a series of documented interviews Vivian and PHS want to paint a better picture of the individuals who access their services. PHS aims to use these interviews to not only inform their own services, but to give the shelter clients an opportunity to share their own experiences in highlighting the barriers that they face when accessing shelters and other services.

Working with the Social Diversity for Children Foundation, Abigail is putting on a one day event to bring together youth living with disabilities and UBC’s music community to promote disability justice and youth empowerment. The one day event will use music as a transformative and powering tool for connecting with one another in meaningful and engaging ways.

Nicolas and Burnaby Moresports are putting together a full day soccer tournament to encourage the development of healthy habits and physical wellbeing among local immigrant families in the community. Along with the tournament, workshops on nutrition and various other games and activities are being deployed during the day as well to help participants create a healthier lifestyle.

In partnership with the Vancouver Helping Hands Foundation, Niki is setting up a pop-up shop to not only distribute essential hygiene items in the Downtown Eastside but also develop employment opportunities for the local population. The goal is to continue to expand on the pop-up shop model, increasing its reach, frequency, and effectiveness in improving access to essential hygiene products and employment skills for the local population.

Addressing the gap in knowledge of heart and stroke risk factors within the South Asian community, Simryn is working with the Heart and Stroke Foundation to expand their volunteer outreach program. By incorporating cultural aspects into interactive activities and promotional materials placed in local Surrey temples, Simryn hopes to better understand how centering culture and cultural spaces can increase engagement for groups often left out in health promotional opportunities.

Winnie Bao is a second year science student and Reading Week volunteer. She has partnered with the Collingwood Neighborhood house on a project called Renfrew-Collingwood Food Stories. This project was a success when the first volume of Renfrew-Collingwood Food Stories was created in 2015. This spring Winnie and the Collingwood Neighborhood House will begin working on the second volume of this book and the Connect to Community grant will enable them to collaborate again with youth, ages 13-25, to create and publish this second volume. The book will be based on youth’s collective stories of family, memory, identity, and food.

Kacey Ng is a third year Sociology student that is part of Partners in Practice which is a student-research group. Kacey, in combination with Partners in Practice, will conduct an evaluation survey of Vancouver Out in Schools programs. This organization educates students in BC on issues of homophobia, transphobia and bullying. As an educational outreach initiative, they seek to raise awareness and advance the safety of learning environments for all youth.

Kacey and her partners hope to work with this community group to assess the effectiveness of their school outreach program provided to various schools across Greater Vancouver. By understanding the effectiveness of the program, they can draw knowledge on how to empower Millennials to create safer and more inclusive communities.

Kristen Eng is a science student at UBC who has partnered with the Aquafit for All Association to pilot a new program in Vancouver called Aqua Vision. Aqua Vision aims to provide aquatic exercise opportunities for those with vision loss in Vancouver. Adults with visual impairments are much less likely to engage in physical activity and Aqua Vision’s classes will provide opportunities for older adults with visual impairments to exercise in a safe and comfortable environment.

Alex Fung is a third year science student who is passionate about raising awareness of diabetes in Asian communities. He has partnered with the Canadian Diabetes Association to deliver two three hour community outreach sessions/workshops to increase community awareness, knowledge, and skills relating to the prevention and management of diabetes in Chinese and Punjabi communities. Each Escape Diabetes: Diet & Exercise (EDDE) session will have information, activities, and presentations in Chinese or Punjabi and they will target seniors in each community who are most at risk of developing Diabetes.   

Kaityln Fung is a Sociology student who has partnered with the Still Moon Arts Society to run an Indigenous Arts and Culture Youth Workshop Series. The goal of the workshop series is to engage as many youth as possible in the Renfrew-Collingwood area and to educate youth about what it means to be present on indigenous land, and how they can engage with and lead the work of Reconciliation. This project aims to bring together all types of people within the community such as 2 Secondary Schools, 3 Non Profit Organizations, 3-4 Indigenous Artists and Facilitators, 30-50 youth participants, and 15 volunteers.

In partnership with the Alzheimer Society of BC, Rachel Holmes has created The “Keepsake” Project, which seeks to reconnect individuals with dementia back with the greater community. The Project will be a one day event that showcases the artwork of people with dementia. Rachel aims to bring to the forefront the identity of people who suffer from dementia rather than being defined by the diagnosis itself. Entry to the event will be by donation, with all proceeds going to Alzheimer Society BC. Its intention is to celebrate these interesting and brave individuals, promote healthy self-expression, and raise awareness for dementia.

Quinn Hou has partnered with the Vancouver based social enterprise Today’s Generation, and the UBC club Agape Street Missions to bring awareness to homelessness, and remove the stigma and blame attached to it. The project is called I am homeless, But Not Because             . and it will showcase individuals stories to thousands of people in the UBC community over seven days in March. The stories collected will aim to shift participants’ perspectives and attitudes towards homelessness, and in turn, replace their disassociation from the community with meaningful and humanizing interactions.

Shawna Narayan is working with the Community School Partnership to bring inner-city high school students workshops to prepare them for the challenges they will face at University. These Life After High School Workshops will take place at six different schools within the Surrey school district and will cover five key topics: dealing with financial stress, learning about post-secondary education, preparing to enter the workforce, searching for quality volunteer opportunities, and caring for yourself. Shawna aims to connect high school students with post-secondary students in a partnership that encourages personal, academic, and professional growth, through the use of these engaging workshops

Girl Code is a program that aims to encourage confidence, optimism, determination and empowerment for youth, specifically young girls. This program was created by Julianne Nieh, who is a first year student in the Sauder School of Business. With the Connect to Community Grant Nieh will expand her program and host a conference, made up of workshops and speakers, to inspire young girls by surrounding them with mentors and peers all with the goal of empowering young girls to have confidence in themselves.

Niki Oveisi is a second year science student who has partnered with the WAI Foundation, to create a project called Breaking Barriers and Building Opportunities for Syrian Refugees. The project aims to provide more opportunities for this group of recent migrants learn conversational English, and to help them build connections in the community. With the WAI Foundation the project will develop English language study packages for the children of Syrian refugee families, and will offer the adults language classes.