Pauline’s Story

How Twin Toddlers Discovered their Voices

Like most four-year-olds, Torri and Artha aren’t always eager to put on their shoes and jackets when their mom asks them to. The twin sisters stall and protest—if you’re a parent, you know the drill. But there is one thing that makes the girls switch to lightning speed. “If I tell them we’re going to see Tina, I can’t get them in the car fast enough,” says the girls’ mom, Pauline. “They’re her biggest fans.”

Tina is a child development consultant and program worker at the Macaulay Child Development Centre, a United Way agency in Toronto. The girls first started visiting the centre at 18 months when their pediatrician noticed they were having trouble communicating. “They spoke to each other in their own language, and I thought it was just ‘twin talk,’” says Pauline. “But I was told they had speech delays.” Their doctor also identified developmental delays in Torri and Artha’s social and motor skills, and recommended Pauline look into free programming at a local early-years centre. There, she’d be able to connect with other parents and help the twins socialize.

With few family members close by, Pauline, who had moved to Canada from the Philippines, couldn’t help but feel responsible for her daughters’ delays. “You worry that you’re not giving enough or you’re not teaching them enough; you’re not being a good mom to them,” she says. With nowhere else to turn, she visited Macaulay.

There, the family met Tina, who helped Pauline get her daughters into a variety of extra support programs aimed at improving social skills, as well as speech and language development. She also connected them with an occupational therapist to boost the twins’ motor skills. With these tools in place, the girls began to thrive. Pauline will never forget the first time the twins said their first full sentences: “I was so happy, I started crying. It was a huge step. A full sentence—it was like winning an award.”

Both girls are now speaking, playing and socializing happily, and are ready to start kindergarten in the fall. Artha is even reading on her own, and her mom couldn’t be prouder.

“Without Tina and Macaulay, and without United Way’s funding, we wouldn’t have been able to access these important programs,” says Pauline. “I’m so thankful for that. I don’t know where we’d be today without this support.”

Shayan’s Story

How one young man jump-started his Canadian career

Shayan didn’t come to Canada expecting to be handed a job. “I had in the back of my mind that it’s a really difficult job market here,” he says. But starting his career in Canada turned out to be even harder than expected. “I started applying for jobs, putting out résumés and always getting that same email saying, ‘You have potential, but unfortunately…’”

With a degree in economics from a respected university in Pakistan, he’d hoped he’d have a shot at jobs in his chosen field. But no one here had heard of his school, and he had no Canadian work experience. And, like many newcomers, Shayan’s professional networks in his new home were thin. After seeking asylum in Canada as a refugee, for the first time ever, he also found himself alone in a new country.

As the rejections mounted, so did Shayan’s despair. “As time passed, I started feeling depressed that there weren’t many opportunities,” he says. But then he heard about COSTI Immigrant Services, a United Way agency that provides employment, educational and settlement supports to a variety of immigrant communities, including newcomers like Shayan. “It was my only hope,” he says.

At the agency, COSTI’s youth mentoring coach told him that in order to land a job in his field, he needed to start making connections. She recommended United Way’s netWORKS program, which would help him build a better résumé, do practice interviews and, most importantly, meet contacts at job fairs and networking events. Shayan threw himself into the workshops and beefed up his job-hunting skills. He made friends, met potential employers and—to his delight—landed a position in his field just two months after his first meeting at COSTI.

Instead of getting up late and reading rejection emails, Shayan now spends his days working as a contact centre service representative, helping bank clients sort out credit card issues. He’s certain that netWORKS made the difference in his job search, and is grateful for the help he got from agency staff.

So what’s next? Shayan is aiming high. After a couple of years in his current job, he’d like to apply for a financial analyst position. Then he’ll shoot for his dream gig: an economist at the Bank of Canada. And he’ll use his new connections to help make that dream a reality.  “What I learned from this experience is that any connection can be helpful, and with the right contacts, you’ll find opportunities.”

Verdann’s Story

How a pogo stick helped one woman find stability

A ball of energy with nowhere to go—that’s how 25-year-old Verdann describes her younger self. Throughout her childhood, her unstable home life sent her bouncing from household to household, and city to city. By the time she was 17, Verdann had been couch surfing and sleeping on the street for years. “I was in a very confusing place at the time,” she recalls.

Then a pogo stick changed her life.

Verdann signed up to be part of a recreational program offered by Red Fox Healthy Living Society. The agency, supported by United Way, works with vulnerable youth, many of whom are Indigenous just like her, to encourage active living—a vital building block for a healthy, strong start in life. “There was just something so awesome about jumping on that pogo stick,” recalls Verdann. “It was really cool to do something physical and feel good; to learn a new skill and master it.”

As her physical and emotional confidence increased, Verdann got involved as a youth leader at the agency. Today she works as a youth coordinator at the same place that jump-started her new life—and her career. She believes her tumultuous upbringing helps her excel at her job, because she has deep empathy for the children and youth she works with. “I can understand where they’re coming from and why they’re acting the way they are,” she says. “Many of these young people have nowhere to go during that crucial time after school and before dinner. They’re often going to find something to do, and it may not be healthy or safe. I know this from experience.”

Verdann is intensely proud to play a part in helping these young people try new things, hone their skills and gain confidence. She’s also become a community role model—something she says she never had growing up. “I think it’s positive for kids of all backgrounds to look up to an Indigenous person. Diverse role models are really important.”

Today, Verdann has a stable job, money in her bank account and a comfortable home of her own in Vancouver’s West End. Her future looks bright, thanks to United Way donors like you, who help local kids and youth put their best foot forward.

“My life is awesome,” she says. “I’m still a ball of energy and I’m still figuring out where I want to go, but at least I have a sense of direction.”