A dream for the future
A United Way funded program helped Sylvanna come out of her shell—and paved the way for her to attend university.
The program that has been most helpful to me was a leadership and homework program. I actually got to meet a lot of people from my school, because I joined in grade eight, so I didn’t know a lot of people going into high school. And that’s how I met my now best friend. We have been friends since the start of that program, we went to high school together and we got to do so many things together in that program.
The program is also what paved my way to go to university. Neither of my parents went to university—as of right now, I am the first person in my family to attend. I always told the staff that I didn’t know what I want to do; I was always unsure. But they gave me a lot of support.
Sylvanna is one of the many people helped by United Way. Last year, United Way supported over 125,000 individuals on Southern Vancouver Island in building better lives. That is almost 1 in 4 people in our region being helped by a United Way initiative or funded program.
We will continue to address and respond to the complex needs of the community long into the future as we recover and rebuild from the pandemic. United, we create local good. Read more about UWSVI’s areas of action and get involved today.
