Month: January 2024

Youth Central is building tomorrow’s leaders by offering barrier-free volunteer opportunities

“At the root of the organization has always been a desire to create a welcoming and safe space for young people in Calgary.”

Through its Youth Volunteer Corps (YVC) program, Youth Central is offering a way for young Calgarians to give back to their community while building essential life skills in the process.

“Youth can sign up to join our database and see hundreds of volunteer projects at their fingertips,” says Michelle Hodgins, Communications and Philanthropy Coordinator, Youth Central. “The idea is to be able to volunteer as much or as little as you like with the causes you care about.”

Established in 1993, the YVC program aims to engage youth aged 12 to 18 in group-based experiences that inspire a lifetime ethic of service.

The program shows only signs of momentum for the near future, with volunteer demand increasing by 40% over the past year and more than 1,500 youth currently signed up. Projects are typically sourced from Youth Central’s 90-agency local partner network, granting youth volunteers the option to do anything from working with seniors to staffing a children’s day camp.

Some more season-appropriate volunteer opportunities include helping to wrap gifts over the holidays, assisting in decorating a senior’s home or making dog toys at the Calgary Humane Society.

“Through these projects, youth are developing crucial skills like time management, communication, and teamwork,” says Hodgins. “It’s more than just something good to do for the community—youth volunteers are learning to become leaders.”

Youth Central works to break down barriers and provide meaningful opportunities for young people to engage in volunteering and become community leaders. All volunteer opportunities are vetted by Youth Central, and all projects are staffed by a university-aged student who leads the group through its volunteer activity.

“By including young people and encouraging them to participate, it makes the community better for everybody,” says Hodgins.

This year, Enbridge gave a $20,000 Fueling Futures donation to Youth Central as part of our commitment to building vibrant communities near our operations. The funding supports the YVC program, enabling the organization to add staff and enhance its reporting abilities.

Enbridge has supported the YVC program since 2020.

“We take an equity lens with everything,” says Hodgins. “The funding helps to make sure that youth aren’t restricted from participating in volunteer opportunities due to things like transportation or language barriers.”

More than 22,300 volunteer hours were completed under the YVC program last year, almost doubling its 2021 total. Youth Central is always welcoming volunteers to join its network in Calgary.

“Working directly with young people and seeing the world through their eyes always inspires me,” says Hodgins. “Seeing their enthusiasm for change and their ability to problem solve in new ways is the best part of the job.”

Maximus 2023 Racial Equity Audit

In response to a shareholder proposal at our 2022 annual meeting, Maximus engaged Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP (WilmerHale) to conduct a racial equity audit. This initiative, receiving strong support from our shareholders, was an opportunity to critically examine our company’s impacts on non-White stakeholders and Communities of Color, and to broaden our perspective on racial equity.

Spanning more than one year, the audit involved numerous interviews and a thorough review of hundreds of documents. This deep dive allowed us to go beyond the initial shareholder proposal, exploring a wider range of topics that impact racial equity.

This audit helped spur meaningful conversations about what more we can do in addition to the intentional work that was already underway. The WilmerHale team has highlighted ways we can better engage our employees on topics of racial equity at every level of our organization.

We are proud to share key findings from this in-depth audit:

We have implemented a variety of programs and initiatives to foster connection among our employees, provide professional development opportunities, and promote fair and equitable talent acquisition and talent management practices.We are committed to delivering high-quality services to our customers, many of whom live in underserved communities.We have created an infrastructure to leverage the support of leaders across the business and to obtain employee input regarding DE&I issues.We are committed to fostering an open and inclusive work environment and strive to understand and respond to employees’ concerns.We are increasing the impact of our philanthropic efforts on underserved communities through strategic changes to the Maximus Foundation.

Maximus has made tremendous strides in our DE&I journey that centers on racial and gender equity, but we also know this journey is ongoing. There are opportunities in areas where we need more maturity and intentionality. We are committed to staying the course and will continue to learn, collect and review data, and, most importantly, listen to our employees.

The recommendations will be implemented using the same processes and strong governance that have made our programs successful thus far. Given the cross-functional nature of the work to be done, support will be provided by various corporate and operations teams throughout the organization, with periodic reporting to leadership and the Board of Directors.

“Maximus has made incredible progress in recent years with DE&I, and we intend to continue our journey. We are proud that WilmerHale’s racial equity audit recognizes our efforts to date and appreciate their thoughtful recommendations to continue promoting DE&I at Maximus. We are committed to continuing our learning, measuring our progress, and, most importantly, listening to our employees. We are grateful for the contributions of many to this audit, the important findings, and what we have learned.” — Dr. Arvenita Washington Cherry, Vice President, DE&I

Learn the full details of Maximus’ Racial Equity Audit