Wavefront Centre and the Vancouver Pioneer LEO Club partnered this summer to help young volunteers turn learnings into community outreach.
Earlier this year, the Vancouver Pioneer LEO Club raised $8,000 in support of Wavefront Centre.
Over the summer, the partnership grew through the Hearing Health and Accessibility Ambassador Program, a student-led initiative that brought practical information about hearing health and communication accessibility to community members.
From workshop to student-led outreach
Club President Alex Zhang initiated and coordinated the program in collaboration with Wavefront Centre. He designed the outreach activities and led the student volunteers in carrying them out.
Before the outreach activities began, Susan Marynewich, Wavefront Centre’s Acting Director of Audiology, led a workshop for the students on hearing health and communication accessibility.
Alex built on that learning with further research, then developed knowledge cards and an eight-question Hearing Health Challenge for volunteers to use in the community. He also designed a simple process for volunteers to invite participants to answer each question, share the correct answer and discuss a practical takeaway.
“I realized that I could only reach so many people on my own,” Alex said. “But if each student gained the knowledge and confidence to share what they had learned with their families, friends, schools, and communities, the message could travel much farther. To me, leadership means helping others feel ready to lead.”
Taking the conversation into the community
The volunteers held three outreach activities at Kitsilano Beach and in Olympic Village, including one that coincided with a busy Vancouver Farmers Market.
They connected with approximately 240 people, using the Hearing Health Challenge to start conversations about safer listening habits and ways to communicate more clearly with someone who has hearing loss.
The students also met online three times in sessions planned and led by Alex to reflect on what they had learned, prepare for upcoming events and welcome new members. Returning volunteers shared practical advice with those joining the program, helping the group improve its approach from one event to the next.
That growth became visible in their conversations with community members. By the final outreach activity, volunteers who had initially been hesitant were starting conversations independently.
Growing confidence, building on the partnership
“Some volunteers thought people seemed kinder at the third outreach. I asked them, ‘Did the people change, or did we?’” Alex reflected. “We had become more confident and better at starting conversations. When we approached people more openly, they responded more openly too.”
“When young people have opportunities to participate and lead, they bring new ideas and energy to community work,” said Gord Pither, Chair of Wavefront Centre’s Board of Directors. “Alex and the Vancouver Pioneer LEO Club volunteers showed what youth engagement can achieve: they took what they learned, made it their own and shared it with others. We are grateful for their contribution to Wavefront Centre and the community.”
The program helped students build communication and leadership skills while sharing hearing-health information with the public. Its learning materials and outreach process can also be passed on to future student leaders.
Stephen Irving, Wavefront Centre’s Director of Communications & Fundraising presented each participating student with a certificate of appreciation for their volunteer service and contribution to hearing-health awareness and communication accessibility.
Support outreach and fundraising at Wavefront Centre
Partnerships help Wavefront Centre create opportunities for young people to learn, lead and contribute to more accessible communities.
If your organization can support a future education or outreach initiative through funding, resources, volunteer opportunities or collaboration, please contact give@wavefrontcentre.ca
