United Way BC: Here. For you. (Report on Our Partnership, Spring 2023)

Contents

Here. For our communities. (reporting periods in parentheses)

Urgent Response

Wildfire Recovery (Summer 2021 to Summer 2022)

Flood Response (Fall 2021 to Fall 2022)

United for Ukraine (Spring 2022 to Spring 2023)

Here. For children and youth.

School’s Out and School’s Out Summer (Fall 2021 to Summer 2022)

Future Leaders (Fall 2021 to Summer 2022)

Spotlight: Broadway Youth Resource Centre

Here. For seniors and older adults.

United Way Healthy Aging (Spring 2021 to Spring 2022)

Spotlight: Active Aging Plus

Here. For you.

Hi Neighbour (Spring 2022 to Spring 2023)

Food Security (Spring 2022 to Spring 2023)

Spotlight: North Okanagan Regional Community Food Hub

Youth Futures Education Fund (Fall 2021 to Spring 2022)

Front cover: Friba (left), Mary (centre), and Gisele at the Hi Neighour site in Burnaby’s Edmonds neighbourhood. Photo by Pardeep Singh.

We are here for you.

The past three years tested each of us as we experienced what resilience means for us personally and for our networks of friends and neighbours. Stories and encounters with hardship continue to overwhelm, and it is impossible to emerge from one crisis to another unchanged and unmoved.

How, then, do we manage the immediate and jarring consequences of climate change, inequity, colonialism, hunger, and displacement on our communities while continuing to do the complex and nuanced work of listening, learning, and mobilizing? How do we support our communities when problems never cease?

No organization, and certainly not United Way BC, has a single solution that will apply to every situation. No such panacea exists. But we do know that what keeps our communities moving forward is imagining, creating, and working together. We accomplish far more through collaboration than we ever do alone.

United Way has dedicated years to identifying and addressing the consequences of isolation. While we typically think of isolation as an individual experience, we know that a lack of connection between organizations and groups is just as harmful. This is why we developed initiatives such as Hi Neighbour, Urgent Response, Food Security, School’s Out, and Healthy Aging to engage residents with their community’s assets, to build networks, and to deepen connections between organizations.

These programs respond to the lessons communities tell us. They nurture residents’ visions of how their neighbourhoods should function and feel. They prove that joy and resilience are both possible and inevitable so long as we work diligently to connect and engage each other.

When six United Ways amalgamated into United Way BC in July 2021, followed by the merger with BC211 in April 2022, we knew these changes would benefit the regions and people we serve no matter what short-term challenges we might face in making these transitions.

It was an effort that worked. We became stronger, more diverse, and more collaborative as a result. Together, we serve a collective vision into which you have contributed and invested with your engagement and your gifts. Your championship of our collective work is what we celebrate in this report. And it is why we dedicate this report to you and pledge that we are here for you.

Thank you for your diligence, creativity, and passion. No matter what changes have yet to come in the world, always know that we will work on your behalf. We are in service of your belief that working together will always enrich the lives of people in our communities.

Truly,

Michael McKnight President and CEO

Acknowledgements

United Way BC is in a self-assessment and learning phase to better understand what Truth and Reconciliation looks like in our organization, and how we can change and understand the effects of colonialism.

In 2022 we opened an Indigenous funding stream to support Truth and Reconciliation initiatives. We also convened an ongoing Indigenous priorities team to identify gaps between our practices and our organizational values for inclusion, diversity, equity, and ultimately justice.

These are but the first steps in the development of a Truth and Reconciliation initiative. We recognize the labour, feedback, enthusiasm, and contributions from members of our communities, staff, volunteers, and our agency partners. We thank you for your trust in us as we continue with this complex, yet joyful work.

We thank the following people, organizations, and communities which make our work possible:

• Donors and contributors to United Way BC;

• Our partnering agencies in the community;

• Staff at United Way BC; and

• Volunteers in our communities.

In conducting our work, we recognize that we operate as guests and settlers on the traditional and ancestral homelands of First Peoples and their descendants. We acknowledge that First Peoples’ relationships with these lands and waterways span millennia, and most of these territories are unceded.

We practice the Nation-to-Nation tradition and protocol of paying homage to all Indigenous Peoples of British Columbia, including First Nations Peoples. We also recognize Indigenous Peoples who live away from their homelands.

We are truly honoured and grateful to improve our learning and understanding of First Peoples’ traditional ways of knowing. We respect the ancestors, Elders, governance, sovereignty, language, culture, protocols, ceremonies, cultural expressions, cultural enhancements, and the many territorial keepers of the Lands on which we work.

We are committed to acting responsibly and conducting ourselves as humble visitors. We will continue to work intentionally towards developing and reconciling authentic and truthful reciprocal relationships.

What we refer to as the Lower Mainland and the Fraser Valley include homelands of the hənq̓əmin̓əm (Halkomelem) and Sḵwxwú7mesh snichim (Squamish Language) speaking peoples and their descendants, including the First Nations of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwxwú7mesh (Squamish), səlílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), Qayqayt (New Westminister), and Tsawwassen.

Specifically, we recognize the Stó:lō and communities within the S’olh Temexw, including the Nations of Semá:th (Sumas) in Abbotsford, Matsqui (Abbotsford), Skwah (Chilliwack), Skowkale (Chilliwack), Shxwhá:y (Chilliwack River Valley), Squiala (Upper Fraser), Popkum (Upper Fraser), Tzeachten (Fraser Valley), Leq’a:mel (Mission), Yakweakwioose (Sardis), Aitchletz (Sardis), and Skawahlook (Agassiz).

In the central and northern regions of Vancouver Island, we acknowledge we work and live within the traditional territories of the constituent nations of the Kwakwaka’wakw cultural group (central to northern Vancouver Island), both the unceded and Treaty Settlement Lands of the constituent nations of the Nuu-chah-nulth cultural group (west coast of Vancouver Island), and Coast Salish People, including the Stz’uminus (Chemainus First Nation) and members of the Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group.

We value healthy and respectful relations with the governments of Snuneymuxw First Nation and Snaw-naw-as (Nanoose First Nation)— the traditional territories upon which the City of Nanaimo was established.

Within what we refer to as the Nicola, Interior, and Cariboo regions, we acknowledge we do our work on the unceded lands of the Lil’wat (Interior Salish), Secwépemc (Shuswap), and Nlaka’pamux (Thompson).

We also acknowledge our relationships with the Kúkpi7 and council of Tkemlúps te Secwépemc, within the ancestral lands of the Secwepemcúĺecw, where the City of Kamloops was established.

In what we call the Lower Columbia or West Kootenay region, we acknowledge we conduct our work on the unceded lands of the Ktunaxa Nation (East Kootenay), the Sinixt (West Kootenay), and Syilx Okanagan Nation.

We stand alongside your Nations and communities, and we dedicate ourselves to building relationships honestly.

Find resources and information on Truth and Reconcilation at https://uwbc.ca/stories/2022/ reflections-on-truth-andreconciliation/

Here. For our communities.

Our Key Initiatives and Investments (April 1, 2023 and March 31, 2024):

Urgent Response ($1.4M)

• Wildfire Recovery

• Flood Response

• United for Ukraine

Hi Neighbour ($1.2M)

Food Security ($6.4M)

• Regional Community Food Hubs

• Data Hub and Food Link Mobile App

United Way BC acts on unexpected events and issues that require prompt and sustained responses. We go beyond merely reacting to disasters by looking further into gaps that fundamentally challenge our vision of healthy, caring, and inclusive communities.

Over the last several years, BC residents showed how they could support each other during the intersecting challenges of climate change, economic inflation, supply chain shortages, closures of local agencies, and the COVID-19 pandemic. While these pressures are unlikely to disappear, we continue to work with residents on improving their community’s networks, resources, and resilience against catastrophic losses.

Wildfire Recovery (Summer 2021 to Summer 2022)

Record-breaking temperatures and multiple heatwaves led to over 1,500 wildfires in BC’s Interior region in the summer of 2021. Thousands of British Columbians were displaced from their homes, and nearby communities quickly reached capacity as hotels ran out of rooms and local agencies ran out of resources.

Learn more in our Wildfire Recovery reports: https://uwbc.ca/campaign/wildfires

United Way BC launched the United for BC Wildfire Recovery Fund on July 1, 2021—the same day six United Ways in BC amalgamated and combined their knowledge and resources to better serve residents across the province.

We reached out to local agencies to understand the needs they were seeing in their communities, and with the support of donors, provided grants to organizations dedicated to helping residents recover.

Over 976 donors contributed $545,870 in 2021 to provide 5,160 individuals in 86 communities with food, basic needs, child care and after-school programs, mental health and counselling, wildfire education, and advocacy services.

Flood Response (Fall 2021 to Fall 2022)

United Way BC’s Urgent Response initiative kicked into gear when massive floods struck Fraser Valley communities in late 2021. We supported volunteers, organized goods and services, and stewarded donations. Donors throughout North America contributed over $4M in 2021-2022 towards basic needs for residents, including food, mental health support, and legal services. Local nonprofits also received grants to help evacuees recover and eventually rebuild.

The Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation, SRY Rail Link, Seaspan ULC, and the Washington Companies supported a special initiative for residents in the flood-affected areas of Sumas Prairie, Yarrow, Semá:th (Sumas) First Nation, and Skwah First Nation. We explored how a Hi Neighbour approach (described on page 10) might work in floodaffected areas with greater immediate needs for housing, food assistance, and trauma and mental health assistance.

While we have worked alongside First Nations and Indigenous residents in our Urgent Response and Hi Neighbour initiatives in the past, this was the first time we partnered deliberately with two First Nations through a grassroots and intentionally anti-colonial perspective. We learned that a typical Hi Neighbour approach works especially well for settler communities even during catastrophic events. However, we needed to learn further how each Indigenous community defined, practiced, and wished to develop greater resilience in their communities. These lessons are continuing and will be shared with our newly formed Indigenous priorities team and other colleagues in United Way BC.

Urgent Response

Watch United Way BC staff and volunteers share their experiences:

https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=SSmC4-I5IU8

Read about our partnership with Semá:th First Nation:

https://uwbc.ca/ stories/2022/healing-handshealing-hearts-supportingresiliency-in-fraser-valleyindigenous-communities

NOVEMBER 15, 2021 – STATE OF EMERGENCY DECLARED

• Evacuation order is given shortly after, and rescue efforts begin. Highways are washed out and people are airlifted to safety. 15 thousand people are evacuated.

IN PRINCETON, UNITED WAY BC:

• Works closely with ESS Funded Community Navigator position with Princeton & District Community Services Society

• Works with the Food Bank to distribute and redirect an excess of in-kind donations via Lytton, Merritt, and Abbotsford

• Coordinates 30 different support agencies to come together to and advocate for needs December – January

APRIL 2022

• Princeton begins to fund Local Love projects, completing 10 to date

OCTOBER 2022 – TODAY

• 24 Local Love projects take place in Yarrow

Learn more in our Flood Response reports:

https://uwbc.ca/campaign/flood

NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2021

• In the Fraser Valley:

• United Way Community Builders gather volunteers and begin to fill sandbags, collect donations, and purchase and distribute essential items

• Reception centre opens at Tradex and United Way sets up booths to provide further support and advocacy

• United Way mobilizes partners and volunteers to meet once per week at the Unmet Needs Table

• United Way funds nine Local Love projects in Sumas Prairie

FEBRUARY – MARCH 2022

• United Way helps people navigate system with Canadian Red Cross Disaster Financial Assistance and connect to programs or apply for Local Love funds

• United Way Local Love funds support farm cleanup days and community hub for hot coffee, food, and other essentials

• United Way works with grassroots hubs to distribute hundreds of fridges donated by Trail Appliances

SPRING – OCTOBER 2022

• United Way funds another 14 Local Love projects in Sumas Prairie

TODAY, UNITED WAY BC:

• Is working with government agencies, other non-profit organizations, and community members to formalize a coordinated urgent response effort across the non-profit sector

• Continues to provide Local Love funds and grants in affected communities, with a focus on mental health and wellness and Hi Neighbour programs to rebuild social infrastructure

• Is working with Community Champions building community resiliency

• Is supporting community development and engagement

Image provided by Don Clark.

United for Ukraine (Spring 2022 to Spring 2023)

The United for Ukraine initiative supports Ukrainians who are displaced by war and seek refuge in BC. It demonstrates what makes this province so special: That anyone, no matter their circumstances, can rely on the kindness of BC residents; and that we will always work hard to welcome newcomers and share the communities we call home.

United Way BC partners with local agencies throughout the province on the following focus areas activities:

• Volunteer recruitment and coordination, which includes screening volunteers, creating and supporting volunteers around identified needs, and following through to connect volunteers with those opportunities;

• Identifying and supporting housing and accommodation, which goes beyond arranging housing by screening hosts and ensuring the safety of Ukrainians who accept housing offers;

• Supporting settlement agencies and non-profit partners in need of grants and programs. The latter includes developing special programs and increasing spaces for Ukrainians to access United Way BC programs in food security, out-of-school care for children and youth, and information and referral services through BC211; and

• Managing goods and services, including inkind and monetary donations from residents, community partners, and corporations.

By the end of 2022, we had accomplished the following:

• We fully screened 425 volunteers who then contributed over 2,840 hours of service;

• We created and managed a database of free temporary accommodations, which connected 300 households with Ukrainians who sought housing;

• We hosted and facilitated support groups and information sessions for housing hosts, and we developed housing working groups to manage ongoing demands;

• We negotiated discounted housing units with Kelson Group (which owns residential properties in the Fraser Valley, Okanagan, and Prince George) as part of a new pilot program; and

• We distributed over 400 public transit cards and mobile phone SIM cards, managed smallscale donations from residents and large-scale donations from Staples and Joe Fresh, and developed a partnership with DoorDash to match our new Ukrainian neighbours with the goods and services essential to life in Canada.

We also adapted several United Way BC programs to meet the unique needs of our new neighbours. These include our Hi Neighbour initiative, which now incorporates elements of Ukrainian culture in small, resident-led projects that engage neighbours with their communities.

Our School’s Out program developed a new initiative specifically for Ukrainian children to receive out-of-school care and activities that build emotional, physical, and social skills which nurture their transition to BC. We also supported Englishlanguage programs for Ukrainian children and youth to help their social and educational success.

Explore Hi Neighbour communities and initiatives:

https://uwbc.ca/program/hineighbour/

Hi Neighbour (Spring 2022 to Spring 2023)

United Way BC’s Hi Neighbour initiative began in 2018 as a response to the increasing levels of loneliness and disconnection experienced by residents in communities. We work intensely with residents and local organizations to develop caring and connected neighbourhoods over a three- to five-year journey. By ensuring people have strong connections within their neighbourhoods, we can effect a wider impact on the overall health, happiness, safety, and resilience of each community.

Hi Neighbour works along three dimensions:

• Strengthening vital connections between residents, and between residents and their community;

• Developing residents’ agency in their community, including identifying the community’s needs and applying solutions; and

• Nurturing and mentoring residents’ capacity to lead and effect positive long-term impact in their community.

From Spring 2022 to Spring 2023, we accomplished the following:

• Supported 12 Hi Neighbour sites,

• Mobilized 3,000 volunteers,

• Trained 2,000 residents to lead as Community Champions,

• Granted 164 Local Love Funds to over 13,000 projects led by residents, and

• Engaged residents in over 128 community events.

We also launched an additional seven Hi Neighbour sites in urgent response regions.

Community Builders are keys elements of Hi Neighbour. These United Way BC staff members already live in a Hi Neighbour community, and they leverage their expert knowledge of their neighbourhood to connect residents with local services and social groups. They also facilitate Local Love grants, which fund resident-led projects and events that engage neighbours with their neighbourhood.

“I discovered that the best way for me to get involved in my community was to love and to serve. So, I started to organize community projects because it was the way for me to have the feeling that I was belonging in Canada.

“Friba explained to me she was from Afghanistan, and she had many ideas. We are like the bridge to connect people who live in the neighbourhood with all the things available to them, and we are listening to them.”

— Mary, resident of Edmonds and United Way BC Community Builder

Mary (left) and Friba at the Hi Neighbour site in Edmonds, City of Burnaby. Photo by Pardeep Singh.

Read about Mary and Friba at https://uwbc.ca/stories/2022/ here-for-each-other/

Explore Food Security initiatives and opportunities:

https://uwbc.ca/program/foodsecurity/

Food Security (Spring 2022 to Spring 2023)

United Way BC supports local communities with solutions that reflect the needs and opportunities unique to their region. Our work spans the spectrum of people’s relationships with BC’s food system from improving immediate access to nourishing food, to looking at best practices and models for the kind of food system future generations will need and must have.

Food Security intersects deeply with our initiatives in Urgent Response, Hi Neighbour, Truth and Reconciliation, Children and Youth, Healthy Aging, Volunteer Engagement, BC211, and with our core commitments to inclusion and equity.

We invested $6.3M in 2022-2023, primarily in the following three initiatives:

• 20 Regional Community Food Hubs that engaged and convened 150 partnering organizations across the province;

• The Food Infrastructure Grant which improved access to healthy food in over 89 rural, remote, or Indigenous communities; and

• The Data Hub and Food Link app to increase access and insight on residents’ current needs, connect them to suppliers and producers, and facilitate distribution by volunteers.

We ask the following questions to guide our work:

• How do residents experience food security and insecurity in their households and communities?

• What are the strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities in BC’s food security sector? How do they affect our vision for a just and sustainable food system?

• Which food security practices improve a community’s resilience to natural and unexpected emergencies, including wildfires, floods, earthquakes, health crises, and the displacement of residents?

• How can we address the consequences of colonialism, racism, isolation, and marginalization through changes in our food system?

• How can residents connect joyfully and healthily with their food system?

Spotlight: Food Security Data Hub and Food Link Mobile App

Read more about Food Link:

https://uwbc.ca/program/ foodlink/

The Data Hub addresses the need for comprehensive and up-to-date data on BC’s invisible and often voiceless food network. This network of foodaccess providers and agencies operates outside of the traditional models of emergency food banks, retail outlets, and local grocers. It addresses the rapidly increasing demand for affordable and nourishing food, and the changing role of charities, grass-root movements, and other community organizations in addressing food security. As demand on this food network grows during the global cost-of-living crisis, food-access providers and agencies also need standardized, timely, and accessible data to assess needs, address gaps, and coordinate the distribution of food across communities.

The Data Hub combines a software application (the Food Link mobile app) with a back-end database. Users (typically community agencies) access the app to submit requests for food that meets the specific dietary and culturally aware needs of residents in their area. These needs are then communicated to other agencies and food suppliers with the ability to fulfill them. The Data Hub also considers the often difficult challenges of delivering and transporting food, and it allows United Way BC to integrate its existing www.ivolunteer.ca platform to coordinate volunteers as well as collaborate with partners to strengthen delivery.

The Data Hub project began in 2021 with funding from the Province of BC and donors to United Way BC. Testing and analysis in three pilot regions began in early 2023 with the additional support of an anonymous donor. We will roll out to United Way BC’s Regional Community Food Hubs and select partners throughout 2023 before deploying widely, scaling up, and training with community-based agencies in 2024

Screenshots of the Food Link mobile app.

Learn more about our Food Security activities in North Okanagan: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=W-tmdsXYRyQ

Spotlight: Building a healthier, more equitable and sustainable food system in North Okanagan

Land to Table Network is a steward for United Way’s Regional Community Food Hub in North Okanagan. The Hub addresses challenges and opportunities within the emergency food sector and looks at solutions that increase organizational capacity and impact.

Over the past year, Land to Table and United Way BC collaborated with the Okanagan Indian Band, The Good Food Box, and the White Valley Resource Centre to deliver over 3,200 hampers and meals filled with local eggs, meat, fish, fruits, and vegetables to seniors, young families, and those impacted by the wildfires and floods of 2021.

“The North Okanagan Land to Table Network supports the vision to build a thriving, healthy, just, and resilient regional food system.

“As a ‘hub steward,’ Land to Table is working in collaboration with project partners to build organizational capacity in order to support the connections and delivery of more local food, grown by our local farmers.

“United Way BC’s Regional Community Food Hubs initiative is enabling us to increase access to fresh, nutritious, local food to those in our communities who need it most, through an approach that also supports the local food economy.”

— Liz Blakeway, Land to Table Network Director

The Hub also offers volunteer and engagement opportunities for community members in their own neighbourhoods, which strengthens vital connections locally.

“I always look forward to the food box delivery day because it’s a chance of not only helping our neighbours, but also meeting them in person to get to know them better,” explains Susan Empey. She has participated in The Good Food Box initiative, a monthly bulk produce buying program that supplies monthly produce boxes, since 2012 as a volunteer and a client. “I didn’t use to buy fresh produce before because it was too expensive, but now I can, and my diet has become so much healthier,” says Susan.

Volunteers and participants at United Way BC’s Regional Community Food Hub in the North Okanagan region.

Here. For children and youth.

School’s Out (Fall 2021 to Summer 2022)

Our Key Initiatives and Investments

(April 1, 2023 and March 31, 2024):

School’s Out and School’s Out Summer ($3.2M)

Future Leaders ($552K)

Youth Futures Education Fund ($730K)

School’s Out strengthens the protective factors for children between the ages of 6 and 12 so they can reach their full potential. We focus on the specific components that improve relationships between children and their peers, family members, school, and community by providing them with opportunities and activities outside of typical school-time hours.

School’s Out developed from United Way’s participation and funding of the Middle Years Development Instrument (MDI) with the University of British Columbia’s Human Early Learning Partnership. Our engagement with the MDI is a natural progression from our previous contributions to the Early Development Instrument, which focused on very young children. The MDI helps researchers and programmers gain a deeper understanding of children’s social and emotional health, wellbeing, and assets during middle childhood from children’s own perspectives. Outcomes are often used to forecast and answer questions about future wellbeing as these children enter adulthood and make greater contributions to Canadian society.

United Way BC partnered with 14 school districts and over 30 agencies, which delivered School’s Out programs at over 123 in-person and online sites between September 2021 and August 2022. These agencies also employed 557 youth mentors over the age of 13. Not only did youth mentors support and facilitate programs for younger children, they also developed their own leadership and professional skills while learning on the job.

We engaged 4,954 children in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley. Of these children, 2,841 (57.3 per cent) joined an extracurricular program outside of school hours for the first time in September 2021.

United Way BC surveyed participants along five themes that empower children as they began and concluded their programs. They reported the following changes:

• Connectedness: 76 per cent established positive relationships with peers and program staff.

• Health and wellness: 81 per cent increased their physical activity and gained knowledge about their wellness and health.

• Interests and competencies: 76 per cent developed and applied new skills and a love of learning.

• Service to community: 75 per cent felt motivated to meaningfully contribute to their community.

• Social and emotional development: 81 per cent developed stronger self-awareness, social awareness, and relationship skills.

School’s Out

Hear Linda and Joseph describe the value of Schools’ Out:

https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=v6pOoDlX0KE&t=2s

Linda (participant) and Joseph (program coordinator) at a School’s Out site in Vancouver’s Strathcona neighbourhood.

School’s Out Summer

Karen, Kelly, Mabel, and Addison share their experiences as a School’s Out family: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=RTfeqZrD9L0

School’s Out Summer (Summer 2022)

United Way BC piloted a summer initiative in July and August 2022 with a specific goal of supporting children and families in the Lower Mainland and the Fraser Valley who face multiple barriers during the summer months when services are usually reduced or unaffordable.

Children between the ages of 6 and 12 enrolled in programs that followed the same five themes in core School’s Out programs. However, summer programs included the following additional priorities:

• Support for grade-to-grade transition;

• Recovery from summertime learning loss; and

• Engagement and support during the summer break when a loss of typical school services affects the entire family.

United Way BC partnered with six school districts and 15 agencies in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley to deliver programs in 51 sites.

Over 1,801 children participated in School’s Out Summer, including those whose families had been impacted by floods in the Fraser Valley over the past year and were subsequently referred to a summer program by United Way BC’s Urgent Response team. Of all participants, 373 (20.7 per cent) joined an extracurricular program outside of school hours for the first time.

Agencies also employed 227 youth mentors, 22 per cent of whom were either previously or currently involved with a United Way BC Future Leaders initiative.

Future Leaders (Fall 2021 to Summer 2022)

Future Leaders supports young people as they develop skills and work experiences that better prepare them for professional situations such as the workforce and higher education. Participants’ ages span from 15 to 29, with 56 per cent (of all 2,401 participants) between the ages of 14 and 18 in the 2021-2022 program year.

The program runs on the guiding principle that specific and practical skills are the strongest ways for youth to reduce barriers to lifelong employment and social wellbeing. Future Leaders train for employment, explore careers, learn to resolve conflicts, prepare for technical certification, budget and manage their money, facilitate and lead groups, and engage with their communities.

The program is especially meaningful for youth who face additional vulnerabilities to employment and social inclusion. Program participants are more often female, identify as racialized, and are new to Canada within the past five years. Learning Disabilities Society joined the Future Leaders program in 2022 to support neuro-diverse youth with additional complex barriers.

During the 2021-2022 program year, our partnering agencies also created 550 paid jobs for participants who were ready to assume greater responsibilities. Some agencies, which had already partnered with United Way BC on School’s Out, offered job placements for Future Leaders. In many cases, School’s Out alumni graduated to Future Leaders where they supported the wellbeing of new cohorts of School’s Out participants.

When United Way BC launched School’s Out Summer in July 2022, The Diamond Foundation partnered with us to extend funding for several Future Leaders sites so our partnering agencies could offer summer placements alongside School’s Out Summer. The Foundation’s gift also created several new programs in neighbourhoods with high demand.

Future Leaders receives support from RBC Future Launch, and is entering its final year (from Fall 2023 to Summer 2024) of a three-year contribution. United Way BC donors have also supported Future Leaders through unrestricted gifts. Our plan is to continue to offer Future Leaders as it provides valuable skills and opportunities to match the needs of youth, employers, and immediate skills and labour shortages. We will also continue to explore the inclusion of partnering agencies with forward-looking curricula and which prioritize the participation of youth who identify as either Indigenous, racialized, newcomers, low-income, and/or neurodiverse.

Outcomes

Future Leaders participants reported the following:

• 87 per cent were more prepared for the workforce,

• 83 per cent improved their career-readiness skills, and

• 86 per cent completed a practical work placement.

Follow the recording studio on Instagram @byrcrecordingstudio

https://www.instagram.com/ byrcrecordingstudio

Spotlight: Nurturing emerging artists at Broadway Youth Resource Centre

Sekawnee Baker grew up listening to music in his bedroom while surrounded by his father Kwakee Baker’s artwork and paintings. He studied online tutorials about producing and composing music, and he listened closely to podcasts by his favourite artists to learn how he might walk his own artistic path. Though his relationship with his father eventually deteriorated and he was asked to leave home, Sekawnee never let his circumstances diminish his determination to become an artist.

Sekawnee then attended the ABE Youth Program next to Broadway Youth Resource Centre when, out of curiosity, he decided to walk in and find out what the centre was about. He eventually enrolled at Nimbus School of Recording and Media to study recording production and business, then convinced the centre to open a recording studio. He joined the Future Leaders program as a peer navigator to teach and guide other youth to make their own music.

“It’s usually hard to get [music production] experience from someone with actual experience,” he says. “I wish I had someone who could have taught me when I was starting. I want to offer that education to others who didn’t have the opportunity to go to a formal program. It feels awesome.”

Now Sekawnee works with youth like Ethan Benson to develop their songs, help them record tracks which they can then upload to streaming services, and support them as they nurture their own artistry.

Ethan notes “This is a welcoming and safe place. Without music, life wouldn’t be fulfilling. It makes me feel great. I’m challenging myself.”

The recording sessions reveal a participant’s struggles even when they do not say so. “Music forces us to be vulnerable and uncomfortable,” Sekawnee says. “When someone isn’t vulnerable, it shows in the recording. Sometimes it’s tough and takes a few sessions to be comfortable with being uncomfortable.” Beyond learning how to produce music, he says the sessions teach youth to practice the muscle of communicating, to let go, and to get good at expressing how they feel.

Sekawnee’s personal journey also took a turn when initially setting up the studio. A staff member asked him if he knew an artist who could create murals. He then decided to break his estrangement and contact his father who agreed to paint the walls lining the recording studio. Now Sekawnee makes music surrounded, once again, by his father’s artwork. “It helped having him here, and his energy is in my space,” he says.

Facing page: Sekawnee Baker, Future Leaders participant.

This page, from top: A mural by Kwakwee Baker in the recording studio; Sekawnee and Ethan Benson work on Ethan’s latest song. Images by Chris Joy.

Youth Futures Education Fund (Fall 2021 to Spring 2022)

Youth Futures Education Fund (YFEF) provides support for basic living expenses to youth who have been in BC government care or in the care of a Delegated Aboriginal Agency (DAA). At its core, YFEF champions the opportunity for youth who were in government care to meet their full potential.

Over $628,000 was distributed to 492 students in the 2021-2022 program year as they pursued their dreams of higher education in 26 post-secondary institutions, the Native Education College, and 10 trades training providers. Students used funds for living expenses, textbooks, transportation, technology, school supplies, healthcare, and childcare. While approximately 92 per cent of BC parents with children under the age of 30 help them financially, this critical support is often not available for youth who were formerly in the care of the provincial government or DAA.

Each year nearly 800 youth age out of care. Many lack stability and support from someone who cares about how they are doing, and few have the means to access the personal, professional, and societal benefits of a higher education. For youth who manage to complete higher education, the benefits are clear: Graduates with a postsecondary credential typically out-earn and out-perform people without qualifications. These outcomes are long-lasting and transformative no matter what subject area is studied.

The fund was established in 2014 by Coast Capital, the Province of British Columbia, and the Office of the Representative for Children and Youth. Youth Futures is guided by an advisory committee and is administered by United Way BC. After many years of demonstrating the success and continuing need for YFEF, the Province of BC announced on March 14, 2023, that it will provide limited support for the living expenses of former youth in care who access post-secondary education and skills training; however, United Way BC will continue to advocate, champion, and raise funds for the program to provide administrative consistency and bolster YFEF’s financial sustainability.

“I have been able to pay for groceries, books, school supplies, and my bills. I can focus my time and energy on my studies without financial stress hanging over my head. . . You’re helping young students like me get the support they need to realize their potential.

— Sim

Read Sim’s story at https://uwbc.ca/stories/2022/ youth-futures-disburses-600000to-youth-aging-into-community/

“People that go through [reduced support when they age out of care] can come out a number of different ways. Some can come out and end up on the streets; some fight really hard to make it, and I’m one of those.

— Star

Watch Star’s story at https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=b2PSPBITXVc

Sim (left) and Star, Youth Futures Education Fund participants and students at Langara College, Vancouver.

Here. For seniors and older adults.

United Way Healthy Aging (Spring 2021 to Spring 2022)

2024):

Our Key Initiatives and Investments (April 1, 2023 and March 31,

Active Aging Plus ($269K)

Plus initiatives funded by government and directed contributions ($30.5M):

• Better at Home

• Family and Friend Caregiver Supports

• United Way Healthy Aging Community Engagement

• Men’s Sheds

• Navigation and Peer Support

• Social Prescribing

• Therapeutic Activation Programs for Seniors

United Way Healthy Aging examines how to improve the wellbeing of seniors by increasing physical activity for older adults, reducing the effects of social isolation, and maintaining and enhancing their independence. Our goal is to help seniors stay at home and in their own communities for longer by keeping them active, connected, and engaged.

We served over 34,382 participants in 2021-2022, which was an increase of 30 per cent over the previous year. An additional 6,496 volunteers helped us and our partnering agencies support older residents—especially those who needed help with groceries and household tasks; nonmedical home support services (including transportation to appointments, visits and check-ins); and referrals and connections to essential social activities that improve physical, mental, and emotional health.

Alongside our work on the practical needs of older adults, we convened communities of practice where our partnering agencies and stakeholders shared knowledge and resources to improve the sector’s overall ability to deliver services. We also hosted regional consultations throughout the province and leveraged United Way BC’s role in the Community-Based Seniors’ Services Leadership Council to improve the breadth and value of our collective work.

We also funded and advocated for smaller communitybased service agencies, and we nurtured their connections to other practitioners. In the last year, we engaged over 188 partners throughout the province and invested over $20.6 million in programs that helped seniors in local communities.

Spotlight: Moving forward in a digital world

Active Aging joined the Digital Learning Pilot Project in 2021 and became Active Aging Plus—the plus meaning that activities were available virtually and could reach older adults across the province. The pilot included ITech packages, which provided devices, data, technical support, and access to education for partnering agencies and older adults enrolled in the program.

The pilot was unique because of its supported-learning approach. United Way Healthy Aging and HelpAge Canada, a national charitable organization supporting seniors in Canada and around the world, trained and supported agencies. In turn, agencies worked directly with seniors in their community.

“It’s important for people to maintain their independence and stay connected as they age, and digital technology has such an important role to play,” said Kahir Lalji, Provincial Director of United Way Healthy Aging. “More and more community centres are developing virtual programs for seniors so they can join from home when they can’t get there in person.”

Over 4,700 older adults participated in 4,546 activities and programs throughout the pilot.

Explore United Way Healthy Aging’s programs and initiatives:

https://uwbc.ca/program/ healthy-aging/

Active Aging Plus participants explore an activity.

Photo by Pardeep Singh.

Here. For you.

Explore our annual report; audited financial statements; and commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity, and justice:

https://uwbc.ca/about/

United Way BC strengthens vital connections that support people in need in our local communities.

United Ways in BC have been inspiring generations of people since 1930 to contribute to programs that advance social equity at local and regional levels.

As a group of over 70 organizations across the country, the United Way Centraide Canada movement is the second largest funder of social services after the government. Each United Way and Centraide is financially and operationally autonomous, yet linked to one another as a federation bound by common values.

Our vision at UWBC is to develop and support a healthy, caring, and inclusive community. To do that, we help people with the following:

1. Mobilize their communities to address local problems in concrete ways;

2. Develop networks of residents and organizations that collaborate and build solutions to problems; and

3. Inspire citizens and organizations to support United Way programs that improve lives.

We identify trends and address social issues, and we advocate and collaborate with our partners to make strategic and informed community investments.

We lead with a dual model of providing grants for programs run by local agencies that help advance our common missions, and we develop and run our own programs to address gaps in community services and provincial support systems.

Our work is fueled by strategic thinking, research, and powerful partnerships. All contributions help us build a strong network of services, which in turn strengthens our entire community and changes people’s lives for the better.

Hi Neighbour sponsored local author Danielle Harte’s workshop for children aged 6 to 9, based on her book “Mindfulness for Kids,” at the Sardis Library in February and March 2023.

The series of three weekly sessions focused on gratitude, presence, and reflection. Parents and guardians were given additional guidance and worked through the rest of the week's material at home with their child.

Deanna Miller, šxʷne:m (healer) of Katzie First Nation, led the wə ʔayəm kʷs niʔ ct ʔiməx (We Walk Slowly) walking tour of medicinal plants in Willoughby.

Deanna makes traditional medicines from plants she harvests in an effort to return to the ways of her ancestors.

Hi Neighbour sponsored the event, which was the second in a series of seven workshops conducted in partnership with stɑl ̓əw Arts and Cultural Society. The workshops preceded the first annual stɑl ̓əw Pow Wow in September 2022.

Photos on this page (from top): Residents begin the medicinal plant walk; stinging nettle; a salmon berry flower.

Facing page: Carlyn Andres (with drum) and Deanna Miller end the walk with a song.

United Way BC is governed by a constitution and bylaws.

Voting members include the Board of Directors and representatives of the four regional councils.

The board hires a chief executive officer to act on the business of United Way BC and to develop and execute a strategic plan.

A copy of the constitution and bylaws may be requested via info@uwbc.ca.

Accountability, Transparency, and Management

We recognize that donors and partners who decide to give and support our mission and programs do so as an act of trust and as an extension of their care for the communities in which we all live, work, and play.

These values guide the activities that we do today and will do tomorrow, and they have been embedded within the 93-year history of United Ways in BC as they serve local communities.

We recognize that to gain and maintain the trust of our donors and partners, we must be more than a charity: We must steward our donors’ and partners’ philanthropic visions and champion their philanthropic goals. We do this while respecting the participants in our programs who have their own agency and vision, and we recognize it is the intersection of our respective journeys that creates outcomes that could only happen when we work together.

Our donors and partners want their gifts to say something meaningful about their values and who they are as people who care about other people. Our participants want to be recognized for the unique skills and contributions they make to our communities. We at United Way BC want to convene spaces and programs that strengthen vital connections between every person in our regions.

It is our responsibility to ensure donors and partners are well informed about what we do, how we act, and how we make decisions so that they can choose whether we continue to be the right partner at the right time that shares the same goals and drive.

Please know this is an ongoing conversation, and we welcome every opportunity to listen to donors and participants, and to discuss our activities and plans to help people in our communities achieve their goals.

Our Commitment to Historically Marginalized Communities

We strive to be a model of diversity and inclusion. We believe that bringing diverse individuals together and valuing their unique attributes and perspectives allows us to collectively and more effectively address the issues that face our communities.

We unite against systemic racism and discrimination toward our communities of colour, especially our Black, Indigenous, and Asian communities whose experiences were particularly alarming during the pandemic and continue to be so. We recognize that racism and discrimination are harmful, whether they appear as words, actions, or policies. We acknowledge that racism and discrimination do not make for safe environments in our workplaces and communities. Everyone deserves to work, learn, play, and live in spaces that do not allow for racism and discrimination to fester nor be overlooked.

We stand by United Way Centraide Canada’s statement opposing racism1 and acknowledge that the dismantling of systemic racism is but a starting point on the path to conversation, learning, solidarity, and informed action. We are committed to learning, doing better, and working harder to fight systemic racism and injustices.

1 https://www.unitedway.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/United-WayCentraide-Canada-Statement-Opposing-Racism-.pdf

It is our goal to attract and develop a diverse and inclusive board of directors, staff, and volunteers who represent the many faces, cultures, and lived experiences of people in our communities.

Above and next page: Staff members gathered on September 9, 2022, in person and in one place for the first time since amalgamating as United Way BC in 2021. Photo by Pardeep Singh.

From top: United Way BC staff members Fay (left) and Jenny volunteer at Nanaimo Foodshare Society; volunteer Everett joins in.

Our board of directors is a group of dedicated leaders, both in their professions and communities.

They volunteer their time to help govern United Way BC as it strengthens vital connections across communities and supports those in need.

Helen Blackburn

Chief Financial Officer, Coast Capital

Travis Bryson

Partner, MNP LLP

Talitha Dekker

Treasurer, Kamloops and District Labour Council

Tom Dyck Owner and President, TJD Advisory Services

Board Chair

Rudy Kerklaan

Vice Chairman (Retired), Connor, Clark & Lunn Private Capital Ltd.

Vice-Chair

Robin Dhir

President, Twin Brook Developments Ltd. Strategic Advisor, Fasken

Secretary-Treasurer

Sinéad Scanlon

Partner, BDO Canada LLP

Board Members

Janet Andrews

Secretary-Treasurer, New Westminster & District Labour Council

Tracy Antoine

Vice President, Commercial Financial Services, Indigenous Markets, BC Region RBC Royal Bank

Jameel Aziz

Superintendent of Education/CEO, YK1 Yellowknife Education District No. 1

Ian Gordon President, North Okanagan Labour Council

Pauline Hadley-Beauregard Partner, Crux Strategic Clarity

Deborah Hopper

Vice President, Nanaimo Duncan & District Labour Council

Dan Howe

Chief Marketing Officer, Pattison Food Group

Orion Irvine

Regional Director, Canadian Labour Congress

Nicolas Jimenez

President and CEO, BC Ferries

Heather Johnson

Senior Consultant, HR West Consulting

Lisa Kershaw

Partner and Director, Boyden Canada

Handol Kim Co-Founder and CEO, Variational AI Inc.

Jennifer Robins

Executive Director, Launch Financial Services Society

Donors and partners like you transform opportunities for thousands of people.

We can help you develop an action plan and implement the steps to transform your goals into tangible partnerships that benefit people.

Please reach out directly to any of us or call 604.969.8278 to discuss how we can work together and do great things in our communities.

We want to be your best champions by building lifelong partnerships with you and by facilitating your philanthropic goals.

We are pragmatic idealists who help donors and partners like you turn big ideas into meaningful change. We will be happy to discuss the many opportunities to make your ideas come true, including matching your goals with the ways to give that are right for you:

• Transformative gifts that fund initiatives and programs at a significant level;

• Major gifts from distinguished philanthropists that drive our work in the community;

• Leadership gifts that provide consistent monthly and annual support for programs that help people;

• Special ways of giving through investments and securities, life insurance, wills, and estates;

• Gifts to celebrate friends and relatives, or in tribute of special memories, anniversaries, and milestones; and

• Gifts from foundations that help our community address specific societal solutions.

Your values as a donor motivate you to fulfill your philanthropic vision. We strive to ensure that what you care about happens.

Brenda Aynsley | 604.969.8860 | BrendaA@uwbc.ca

Transformative and customized gifts

Strategic planning and oversight

Madison You | 604.969.8278 | MadisonY@uwbc.ca

Inquiries from donors

Administration of philanthropic processes and activities

Kara Byrne | 250.372.5926 | KaraB@uwbc.ca

Gifts from new and leadership-level donors

Kristina Gebhard | 250.739.7624 | KristinaG@uwbc.ca

Major gifts from individuals in the community and from workplace programs in Central and Northern Vancouver Island

Victoria Smith | 604.268.1344 | VictoriaS@uwbc.ca

Major gifts from individuals in the community and from workplace programs

Donor engagement and recognition planning

Jeffrey Hsu | 604.268.1345 | JeffreyH@uwbc.ca

Transformative and customized gifts from public and private foundations

Proposals and communications on special gifts

Peter Ko | 604.268.1343 | PeterK@uwbc.ca

Gifts of securities

Gifts through estates, bequests, and life insurance

Alaina Podmorow | 236.766.0596 | AlainaP@uwbc.ca

Stewardship of donors

Special events and recognition opportunities