INSPIRE THE NEXT GENERATION AS A JA VOLUNTEER Share your business knowledge & career experience with youth. Visit jabc.ca/heroes
March • 2022
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The Power of Role Models “I love volunteering with JABC because it gives me the opportunity to pass on pearls of wisdom gained from a lifetime in business. Our youth are our future and it’s important to give them diverse perspectives on what’s possible in our world.” —JABC Volunteer Role models play an important part in the education of young people and can positively influence the path of someone’s life. You have likely come across a role model throughout your life who had an effect on your education or career journey. At JA British Columbia (JABC), a not-for-profit impact organization that prepares youth for success, we know that volunteer role models turn educational experiences from good to great. This is why we work with hundreds of volunteers from communities all over B.C. who are excited to share their education and career journeys in the hope of inspiring young people to set goals and carve their own paths. These volunteer role models
share their real-world experiences while delivering programs in financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship. Through the process, students walk away with skills in communication, collaboration, leadership, problemsolving, and decision making. Jeremiah Philips, a JA alumnus and fourth-year UBC student, is a local entrepreneur who discovered his passion for business by participating in a JA entrepreneurship program where he received guidance from volunteer mentors from his local community. After walking away with an understanding of how to set up, run, and market his business, he went on to launch a nonprofit called Vision For Life, which aims to create a deep and long-lasting impact by raising awareness of poverty and working one-on-one with marginalized individuals. “The teamwork and marketing skills I developed at JA helped support the growth of Vision For Life,” says Jeremiah. “JA still acts as a point of support for me to this day. Several
mentors and peers I met during the program are willing to lend a helping hand whenever they can, whether by connecting me with others or providing their own knowledge.” Sofia Lopez, another JA alumna, now volunteers her time with JABC in the hopes of inspiring young people to consider the various career opportunities available over the next ten years. She hosts the JA World of Choices program, a virtual career exploration program where youth can connect with real industry speakers–volunteers–to learn about their skills, education, and how they landed in their current roles. Through this volunteer opportunity, Sofia builds on her communication skills by speaking to hundreds of high school students. She likes volunteering with JABC and adds, “The staff at JABC are incredibly supportive, compassionate, and passionate to teach, and it is so refreshing to be able to experience this. The connections and networks
I obtained over my three years have been so impactful that, to this day, I still keep in contact with my JABC family and continue working with them.” Jeremiah and Sofia are just two of many examples of individuals that believe in the power of role models. When a volunteer delivers one of JA’s impact programs in financial literacy, work readiness,
or entrepreneurship, youth are better able to see their future and have the confidence to achieve their goals. If you are looking for a unique opportunity to equip students with skills essential to their future success, volunteer with us and inspire a young life. Visit jabc.ca/heroes.
IMAGE COURTESY OF © JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
Bags of Light, Made with Soul RAYE MOCIOIU
Growing up on the outskirts of Mombasa, Kenya, sisters and entrepreneurs Salima and Samara witnessed how so many children their age could not do their homework. “Our mom was an advocate for educating girls,” Salima shares. “Not having access to clean, safe light meant that these girls would not have the grades to make it into secondary school, causing them to drop out and not have an income or job to look forward to.” Each night, the families in villages without electricity would have to use kerosene, a costly and carcinogenic jet fuel that 1.2 billion people use as their only source of light when the sun goes down. While attending McGill University in Quebec, Canada, Salima discovered that with solar-powered electricity, households would have a safe and less expensive alternative to kerosene. Moreover, girls like those she knew in Kikambala
IMAGES © COURTESY OF SAMARA
would be able to do their homework each night. Her realization led her to create The Soular Backpack. “The intention is that as a child walks to school, a lamp in their bag gets charged through a solar panel on their backpack,” says Salima. “When they get home, they have access to clean, safe light and can do their homework and read, so they are empowered to take
control of their futures.” At home, the children can connect the battery pack to an LED lamp, providing light in homes without electricity for about five hours. To date, around 10,000 children now have access to light every night. To fund the project, Salima launched SAMARA Bags in 2017, a fashion brand selling simple, elegant, and cruelty-free vegan leather bags. Named after
her sister Samara, Salima started with just $500 and a production run of 10 bags—and it proved to be all she needed. “Our goal was to find a way to keep our first not-for-profit, The Soular Backpack, alive in a sustainable way, which piqued our interest in the power of brands and communities in creating impact in the world. From the night we launched in 2017, and our first 25 bags that sold out overnight, to now having our products in the hands of over 175,000 people, our North Star has always been to create impact in the world and to build a brand that makes the world better in as many ways as we can, all while donating 10 percent of our profits to The Soular Backpack.” The two sisters, who run the company in memory of their mother, create timeless and chic styles made from innovative and planet-friendly materials. Their goal is to one day pivot SAMARA to be entirely plantbased, using only sustainable materials with the least amount of processing—a mission
that requires creativity and unconventional thinking. Looking for a premium feel with a positive environmental impact, the sisters started experimenting with coconut husks and pineapple leather before discovering apple leather—made from apple skins that are a waste byproduct of the juicing industry mixed with PU (that acts as a binding agent). Working with a small factory in Europe, the sisters created the Apple Leather Mini out of this material! “We are excited to be playing a part in the future of fashion and what that entails in terms of innovation, materials, and science,” Salima says. “We’ve created products with apple skins, castor seeds, recycled ocean plastics, and recycled plastic bottles, and we’re only getting started. Our dream is to one day have a factory in Kenya, so that we can provide employment to the parents of the children who receive Soular Backpacks in the village where we grew up.” ADVERTORIAL
Showing Mothers How Much They Matter Mothers have been carrying an unthinkable weight throughout the pandemic. They’ve done it behind closed doors, isolated from the outside world—the result: a nation of mothers who are under enormous pressure and often feeling invisible. The Mothers Matter Centre (MMC) has made it their mission to ensure that these unsung heroes get the support they need. The MMC works to remind mothers that they are not invisible; they are valued, and help is at hand. The Mothers Matter Centre does this through their flagship program Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY), an evidence-based program where Home Visitors come into a family’s home to support vulnerable and isolated mothers in their critical role as their child’s first and most important teacher. HIPPY strengthens families and communities by empowering mothers to be active in Canadian society while preparing their children for success in school and life.
HIPPY’S RESPONSE TO THE PANDEMIC With the onset of COVID-19 in March 2020, the HIPPY program and its Home Visitors adapted without losing a step. For many mothers, their HIPPY Home Visitor became their only contact with the outside world. Home Visitors called weekly—or more when necessary. They helped Mothers preserve the cherished HIPPY time with their children at home. They provided support for mothers coping with online schooling for their children and provided hope to mothers whose determination and resilience were tested daily. This outreach was a lifeline for families in urgent need. “It decreased for me the loneliness and isolation and the pain of being homesick. Because we came at a time when we couldn’t even create friendships, or go to a language school… We arrived right in the lockdown, and to find someone that helps you, emotionally or physically… or to help you to find solutions is great.”—Ruba (mother)
Canadians have more work to do. Recovery won’t happen on its own. It will take more than a vaccine. It will require all of us to show mothers how much they matter. It will require us
to address the pandemic’s longterm psychological impacts on children. It will require us to focus not only on employment training but also on mental health and wellness.
HEALTH AND WELLBEING FOR HIPPY MOTHERS As the pandemic rages on, many mothers continue in isolation, which means that supporting their mental health is vital. The MMC’s Health and Wellbeing program helps mothers adopt strategies and healthy coping mechanisms to navigate life as we move through, and eventually out of, the pandemic. For $150, you can sponsor a mother in the health and wellbeing program. BUILD BACK PLAY FOR HIPPY CHILDREN In isolation, play has become even more important. Between new rules at school, face masks, and parents struggling with health and financial instability, play is a way for children to relax, enjoy their creativity, and process stress. This program serves as a guide to bringing play back into our daily lives.
© COURTESY OF MOTHERS MATTER
We Connect Mothers With Other Mothers Help Us Empower Mothers, Transform Families and Uplift Communities.
mothersmattercentre.ca
For $50, you can sponsor a family in the Build Back Play program.
