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November • 2021 The power of positive, solution-based journalism.
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A Prosperous Future: Take Charge of Your Finances More than 500,000 Canadians have taken control of their financial future—and you can be one of them. COVID-19 has left many Canadians feeling more financially vulnerable than ever. A year into the pandemic, one in five Canadians (20.4 percent) reported difficulty paying for basic necessities like food, housing, and other expenses, with women, youth, Indigenous people, and racialized communities bearing the brunt of employment and earnings losses. Even before the pandemic, more than four in ten Canadians (43 percent) were living paycheque to paycheque. Almost half of Canadians (48.8 percent) lacked enough savings to stay above the poverty line for three months.
Financial stress is a heavy burden to carry, but you don’t have to carry it all on your own. Help is available for those who want to take charge of their finances. Prosper Canada, a national charity dedicated to expanding economic opportunity for Canadians living on low income, recognized the barriers faced by vulnerable Canadians and responded by creating a “Trove” of resources to help people regain financial control. Trove is a free bilingual website created to help Canadians navigate their money situation, take charge of their spending, learn about tax filing and benefits, manage their debt, and plan for their futures. Financial empowerment is an approach to poverty reduction
that focuses on improving financial security—and that starts with having access to the tools needed to improve your financial literacy! Easy to understand and easy to use, Trove brings together a wealth of financial tools, worksheets, and educational information to help Canadians build healthy money habits and succeed financially. Everyone wants to take control of their finances, but how do you tackle debt, stick to a budget, and save money for your goals when times are tough? It’s hard to know where to start and where to find financial information and resources you can understand and trust. Trove eliminates these barriers by providing a full range of free, tested tools and learning resources in plain language, designed for everyday Canadians struggling with lost jobs and incomes. Tackling your finances can be daunting, but knowing where to start is the first step. To find out what you can do to improve your money situation, visit yourtrove.org
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The Art of Giving Back: Twin Sisters Harness
the Power of Indigenous Education During our conversations, we decided that Indspire was a huge Between balancing graduate stud- part of our success. We started ies and staying safe amid a global brainstorming ways to give back health crisis, two Inuit sisters to them and pay it forward.” started a pandemic project that The sisters have a simple idea: has made an incredible impact. buying a mask helps everyone by Originally called Kanata keeping you and others around Face Masks, Kanata Trade Co. you safe—and when you choose was started in late November to purchase a mask from Kanata 2020 by twin sisters Amira Trade Co., your purchase also helps and Nadya Gill, both of whom support Indigenous communities. attend Queens University. “Our work with Indspire As the two sisters are nearing began when we were awardthe end of their studies, they ed scholarships/bursaries to want to give back to the charity financially aid us in completing that made their studies possible: our post-secondary schooling. Indspire, an Indigenous nation- We chose Indspire as, without al charity that works to remove them, we would not have had barriers preventing Indigenous such a fulfilling post-secondary students from attending college experience,” Amira continues. or university. Indspire invests in the educa“I was in my last year of my tion of First Nations, Inuit, and M.A.Sc. Degree and had already Métis people for the long-term benefit of these individuals, their completed all course requirefamilies and communities, and ments,” Amira shares. “Nadya Canada. In 2020, Indspire grantand I got together and started ed more than 5,100 scholarships reminiscing about everything worth $17.8 million to Indigewe had done and how we had gotten to where we were. nous students across Canada. RAYE MOCIOIU
“While we were brainstorming how we wanted to give back to Indspire, the theme to support Indigenous artists appeared,” shares Nadya. “Due to being in the midst of the pandemic, we thought face masks would be the logical item to try and sell, and decided all profits would go to Indspire to help other Indigenous students have a chance at post-secondary education.” Kanata Trade Co.’s collection of masks feature beautiful artwork from Indigenous artists across Canada, and these artists receive royalties every time a mask is purchased. “We wanted our masks to be unique and to support as many individuals as possible, so we decided to find a supplier who supports and gives royalties to Indigenous artists. We wanted our business to fully support and promote the beautiful work of Indigenous artists, and help them expand and share the history behind their work,” the sisters added.
© ZACH HAMEL
This cause is especially significant as the art sector makes slow progress toward recovery after the pandemic shuttered galleries across the country. Kanata Trade Co.’s collection of products can promote artists and their work while making a difference for Indigenous students and their futures—it’s a cycle of positivity. When Amira and Nadya reached out to Indspire to share their idea, the organization expressed their gratitude and support, even featuring the burgeoning business in their newsletter. As word gets out about Kanata Trade Co. and how it works to secure the futures of Indigenous
students, the twins have expanded their line of products. “We started adding journals, art cards, patches, t-shirts, and pins to support many different issues that arise in the Indigenous community such as MMIW (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women) and residential school awareness. We also hope that Kanata Trade Co. can raise awareness for the work Indspire does and the support they provide to Indigenous students.” So far, the Gill sisters have donated over $6,000 to Indspire, a first milestone on a journey of advocacy that they plan to continue long after graduation.
Helping Youth Find Their Path to Employment It has been a challenging year for many, especially for youth entering or new to the job market. Throughout the pandemic, youth have borne the brunt of COVID-related job cuts. Statistics Canada shows that Ontario has faced a drop in employment for a second straight month, with the unemployment rate increasing to 27.8 percent. However, there is still time to set Canada’s youth on the path to success! With over twenty different FREE programs, YES (Youth Employment Services) has developed strategies to guide Canadian youth through the job market. Your story is unlike anyone else’s. No matter how much or how little you have planned, YES has the educational tools to help you find the confidence to succeed. “If you are one of the thousands of unemployed youth affected by the pandemic, YES has the programs and support to help you succeed,” said Timothy Lang, President & CEO at YES. “YES has close to a 90 percent success rate and has helped inspire hundreds of thousands of youth since 1968. Our world class team and programming has
truly changed lives and created greater prosperity in Canada.” YES is the leader in youth employment training, programming, and job placements, serving thousands of Canadians every year and changing lives through a variety of coaching, training, and life skills. In 2021, YES successfully helped assist 11,063 youth on their employment journey. YES has also improved its programming to help
youth find employment now and in the future. The pandemic has increased the need for youth to be resilient, demonstrate a growth mindset, and develop collaborative skills to work in virtual teams. YES has responded with virtual communication, access to employment services to improve resumes and interview skills, and one-to-one attention to tailor job
gramming, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy with a qualified psychotherapist. YES also provides Digital Skills Programming and Mentorship for youth looking to get cloud certified or certified in construction. YES continues to work with youth and, with the help of their job developers and career counsellors, they continue to find ways to help youth find employment. Employment and empowerment are the cornerstone of a safe and healthy community. Through programs that empower disadvantaged and vulnerable young people, YES is leading the way in Canada and supports agencies across the nation, while directly © YOUTH EMPLOYMENT SERVICES supporting youth in the GTA to searches to ensure that the youth become self-sufficient contributing who walk through their doors find members of society: what they need. Say YES to a self-sufficient fu83 percent of youth who came ture for Canada’s youth. to YES with no income or who were reliant on social services for If you are interested or know support gained employment. someone who could benefit Understanding the needs of from YES’s services, youth has helped YES develop please visit yes.on.ca programs to better serve youth or email them at csr@yes.on.ca who identify with mental health for further assistance. troubles through specialized pro-
HELPING YOU WITH YOUR EMPLOYMENT JOURNEY
CONTACT YES AT WWW.YES.ON.CA OR CALL 416-504-5516 TO CONNECT WITH SOMEONE TODAY!
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