H.E.L.P. Youth Update – By the numbers

HELP/Project Backpack continues to grow thanks to the continued support from our generous supporters

To date, we have assisted 21 at-risk youth fulfill their dreams of pursuing an education at the following schools: UBC, BCIT, Langara College, Vancouver Community College, Douglas College, Vancouver School of Bodywork & Massage, Capilano College and Pacific Vocational College.

September, 2019 will see 8 youth return to school in: Marine Engineering, Operations Management, Bachelor of Social Work, TV & Film, Commercial Illustration, and 2 youth doing their 1st year prerequisite courses.

A little about our current students:

• Manuel is enrolled in his 3rd year BCIT Marine Engineering program and is currently away on sea duty

• Leena has been attending summer session at Langara College while she completes her prerequisite courses. She hopes to transfer to UBC to study Computer Science.
  M.A., entering her 3rd year at UBC now in the Social Work program. She is interested in pursuing a career in Social Policy.

• Kaiden will begin his second year in Television & Film Production at BCIT in September 2019.

• Steven starts the fall semester at BCIT after a very successful first year studying Operations Management.

• H’Bet is heading to Vancouver Community College to take prerequisite courses for a degree in Practical Nursing.

• Caitlin will attend Douglas College to take courses towards her Social Work program.

• Erin is at Langara completing the remaining courses needed for her Commercial Illustration Diploma.
  
  good news from H.E.L.P.
  We are delighted to announce that National Bank Private Banking 1859 “would like to continue to help such an important community initiative.” National Bank Private Banking 1859 has supported our work for the past three years. Many thanks to the team at National Bank Private Banking 1859!

Some of the social agencies we are currently partnering with are Directions Youth Centre, Covenant House, Hollyburn Family Services, Heron’s Nest, Trout Lake Community Center and YWCA/Drive.

A heartfelt THANK YOU goes out to Dr. Joyce Chan of Karma Dental for her generous support.

All of us at H.E.L.P. want to extend a sincere THANK YOU to all the caseworkers. We could not do what we do without you!

Project Backpack Updates

Now in our 14th year, Project BackPack has collected close to 3,500 packs and donated contents valued at well over $250,000.00, plus thousands of dollars in gift certificates.
The program is a unique partnership between H.E.L.P. and local schools who run campaigns within their schools to fill the backpacks with everything from personal items to gift cards making a tremendous difference in the lives of the homeless youth in our community.

The 2018-2019 campaign was our most successful ever – our numbers were up from 6 schools to 10 and from 2 shelters to 3. We want to thank all the participating schools, groups and companies for their participation.
H.E.L.P. & Project BackPack partnered with the Salvation Army Boundless Back to School fair for grades 1 – 12 on August 22 by donating 150 backpacks and participating in the community event.

For the second year, the talented women of Parc Retirement Living knitted armfuls of handmade scarves, mittens & hats and donated them to Project Backpack. Many thanks to you all!

At the end of July we were approached by the folks at FootLocker who wanted to work with us on a fall campaign! We are excited to work with this new team.

Many thanks to all the students at these schools. Through their hard work and fantastic organizational skills they helped make this campaign our biggest ever!

Cleveland Elementary
Mountainside Secondary School
Mulgrave School
Southridge School
West Point Grey Academy
Handsworth Secondary
Lord Selkirk Elementary School
Vancouver Technical Secondary School
York House School
Gladstone Secondary School

Lastly, we want to thank all those involved in H.E.L.P.’s growth and success. It truly takes a very large village of teachers, caseworkers, admin staff, counsellors, sponsors and donors to make a difference.

THANK YOU!