Health
Celebrating National Philanthropy Day: How community boards are transforming youth lives across Canada
Nov 14, 2025
National Philanthropy Day (November 15) marks an important opportunity to recognize charitable giving and community impact across the country. It's a celebration of generosity, giving, and the people who make meaningful change possible. Created by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, this day honors financial contributions, volunteers, community leaders, and acts of kindness that strengthen our communities.
At the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation, we're proud to celebrate this day by shining a spotlight on the incredible work happening right here in Canada through our local Community Boards and the young people whose lives are being transformed because of them.
The power of We Give Where We Live
We believe in a simple but powerful idea: the people who know their communities best are the ones who should decide how to support them. That's why 20 years ago, TELUS created Community Boards, bringing together local leaders who understand the unique challenges and opportunities facing youth in their regions. They're networks of passionate community members who live and work where funding is needed most. From coast to coast to coast, our Community Boards ensure that resources reach young people where they'll have the greatest impact.
What started as a local idea has grown into something remarkable. Today, we're proud to support Community Boards across Canada, from Vancouver Island all the way to Atlantic Canada.
Canadian grants making a difference
This year, our Community Boards, led by the dedicated Community Investment team, selected 500 impactful youth programs for us to support. These initiatives demonstrate what's possible when we invest in youth with intention and heart.
Here are just a few of the incredible grants our Community Boards funded across Canada in 2025:
Breaking barriers in Alberta
In Edmonton, the iHuman Youth Society Career Club is opening doors for young people who face some of the toughest challenges imaginable. These youth are navigating trauma, systemic racism, unstable housing, intergenerational poverty and mental health struggles. Barriers that would stop most traditional job training programs in their tracks.
But the Career Club isn't a traditional program. It's a dynamic, youth-centered space designed specifically for young people transitioning out of core iHuman programs, meeting them where they are and helping them access meaningful career opportunities that once seemed out of reach.
Meanwhile in Calgary, the CASA Mental Health program received a grant to create therapy observation rooms for children, youth and families in their trauma program. These specialized spaces provide a safe, structured environment where young people can express their emotions and work through trauma without fear or discomfort. For caregivers and therapists, the ability to observe therapy in real-time means they can adjust interventions to meet each child's unique needs.
Innovation and inclusion in British Columbia
On Vancouver Island, Cedar Opportunities BC Society is proving that independence and inclusion go hand in hand. Their EveryAbility Eats program ("Learn. Cook. Thrive.") empowers youth with disabilities through cooking education. But here's what makes it special: it's also a social enterprise. The program just launched a partnership with Hullo Ferries, providing sandwiches, treats, and other goodies on vessels traveling between Nanaimo and Vancouver. Young people aren't learning skills in isolation. They're contributing to their community and building real-world work experience.
In Vancouver, the Community Board has supported NaloxHome society. Founder and youth advocate, Chloe Goodison, and now member of the Vancouver and Coastal Community Board, saw a critical gap: BC's school curriculum wasn't addressing the toxic drug crisis, and youth didn't know how to respond if they witnessed an overdose. Since launching youth-focused Naloxone training, NaloxHome has provided tens of thousands of training sessions to young people across BC, equipping them with life-saving knowledge and empowering them to be part of the solution.
Building futures in Ontario
In Barrie and Central Ontario, the Pinnguaq Foundation received a grant to deliver STEAM education programming that's changing the trajectory for 120 underserved youth, including low-income and Indigenous young people ages 6-29. Through free after-school programs, camps, and digital skills workshops, these youth are gaining the tools they need to thrive in an increasingly tech-driven world.
The Dave Smith Youth Treatment Centre in Ottawa and Eastern Ontario took a bold approach with their grant: they're ensuring that 120 BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and other equity-deserving youth ages 13-21 can continue their high school education and explore career pathways, all while receiving mental health and substance use treatment. Because healing and learning shouldn't be mutually exclusive.
Cutting-edge assistive technology in Montreal
In Montreal, our Community Board is helping children with severe motor impairments take control of their world in ways that were once unimaginable. Through funding for brain-computer interface technology adapted for motorized wheelchairs, 50 children are gaining the kind of autonomy most of us take for granted. The grant covered both the assistive technology itself and comprehensive staff training, ensuring that the children who need this innovation most can actually access it. For these young people, this technology represents a fundamental shift in their quality of life and their ability to participate fully in their communities.
Creative expression in the Prairies
In Manitoba and Saskatchewan, young people ages 6-12 are literally building new worlds. Through 3D World’s Graffiti Art program, youth from Winnipeg create paper puppets that are then transported into a 3D digital world using virtual reality software. Community members can step into these virtual worlds through QR codes placed throughout high-traffic areas, experiencing the creativity and imagination of young artists firsthand.
Join us in celebrating generosity
This National Philanthropy Day, we're celebrating our charity partners who do the daily work of transformation. We're honoring the community leaders who volunteer their time and expertise on our Community Boards. And we're recognizing the TELUS team members who believe, as we do, that business has a responsibility to do good, especially for the youngest and most vulnerable.
Because when we invest in youth, we're changing individual lives and creating a ripple effect that will last for generations to come. Together, let’s continue building stronger, resilient communities across Canada.
