Creating a safe place to play and learn
Danielle Alyward is a big fan of learning through play.
The fourth-year Child and Youth Care (CYC) student is a regular volunteer at Friday Night Lights, a free program for youth and their caregivers that operates out of Georgia Avenue Elementary School. A partnership between the City of Nanaimo’s Parks, Recreation and Culture department, School District 68 and Vancouver Island University, the program provides a space for local children and their caregivers to play sports, do crafts and socialize together.
Taking classroom learning to community
Jane Dean has been passionate about working with children and youth for as long as she can remember. When she started the Child and Youth Care program at VIU, her goal was to create a positive impact in the lives of others.
She is now seeing her goal come to fruition. She’s been helping to organize a large outdoor event at Georgia Avenue Community School school in Nanaimo’s Harewood community.
Finding her fit with VIU’s Child and Youth Care degree program
Advocating for families and supporting them in a variety of capacities are the best parts of Taylor LeBrun’s job.
Taylor graduated from VIU’s Child and Youth Care degree program last summer, and found employment almost right away, signing on as a support worker at Tillicum Lelum Aboriginal Friendship Centre in Nanaimo this past September.