Who are you?
We are a non-profit society that draws its students from Vancouver’s 3 poorest neighbourhoods – Strathcona, Grandview-Woodlands and the Downtown East Side. Our mission is to support the academic, social/emotional and financial needs of youth at Britannia Secondary, struggling to graduate and achieve post-secondary success by providing free tutoring, fresh fruit and snacks, and bursaries for post-secondary education. Each year, approximately 370 students attend Homework Club, and we have provided between $3,000 and $9,000 worth of bursaries each year. This year, we had a shortfall in funding and appealed to a variety of sources in hopes of securing enough money to sustain us this year, and expand in the future. We entered the Aviva Community Fund for a chance to win $150,000 and last week, found ourselves in the semi-finals. Our plans for the money can be found on the Aviva website www.avivacommunityfund.org/
How is your organization fun?
Nutella, Nutella, Nutella! It’s what the kids line up for, and probably one of the few ways to make homework fun!
What is your organization’s superpower?
Blasting through obstacles like homework, finances and social/emotional problems to help kids in need.
How do you use it to build community?
While we work primarily with high school aged youth, the program has broader benefits for families and communities as younger siblings and parents see the powerful benefits of school attendance and success. By strengthening families HWC also promotes effective community capacity building because strong families are the building blocks of strong communities.
