Ripple effects of success: Yaël’s mentorship journey to All in for Youth

When a young person is mentored, believed in, and shown what’s possible — their success doesn’t end with them. They go on to uplift others, starting a ripple effect that changes lives, families, and entire communities. It’s the kind of systemic change made possible through United Way’s All in for Youth (AIFY) program.

All in for Youth is a collaborative initiative led by United Way of the Alberta Capital Region, supporting students from Kindergarten to Grade 12 in high-need schools. These integrated, services address the real-world challenges students and families face so they can stay in school, graduate, and thrive.

When she was in high school, Yaël walked into a BGC youth centre and started her own ripple effect. Now a passionate mentor and staff member with Boys & Girls Clubs Big Brothers Big Sisters (BGCBigs), Yaël shares her journey from navigating the Canadian school system to becoming a leader empowering the next generation through All in for Youth (AIFY).

My mentorship story starts when I was about 12 years old.

At that time, I was pretty much aimless. I was just a girl trying to figure out her own way in the world, and that unfortunately, it doesn’t always go very well.

Andrew, a mentor from the local BGC youth centre, came to my high school to talk to students about getting more involved with their drop-in program.

I’m from an immigrant family, so I had to try and navigate the Canadian school system on my own when it came time for university. In addition, I struggled with my mental health and maintained a lot of responsibilities at a young age.

But the youth center provided me a place to just be a kid.

I wasn’t powerless

When I first joined the youth centre, I didn’t know leadership was something you could pursue. I really cared about social justice issues at a young age, and Andrew taught me that I was actually able to do something about it.

The youth center provided me a platform to work on myself and my leadership skills through that mentorship with Andrew. He was really, really helpful when I had these really big ideas and big dreams. He never shut them down. He encouraged me to pursue other leadership opportunities that would enable me to do something with this passion.

I felt really inspired to continue this work because the programs that I accessed as youth were so transformative for me.

Though the club, I became a member and then president of the Keystone leadership program, where I was able to pursue leadership opportunities on a national level. Now, I have a mentorship job with BGCBigs while I finish my Bachelor of Arts in criminology. I’m also a Youth of the Year with BGC Canada, advocating for youth programming and support on a national platform.

That’s the ripple effect in action.

Today, I’ve come full circle

I first learned about All in for Youth (AIFY) when I started working at a BGCBigs club site embedded in an AIFY school. We provide programing for kids aged 6 to 12 that really center around the youth, what they like to do, and where we think they will benefit the most.

I work with about 150 kids a week, and I’ve seen some of the same kids continue throughout the club through the four years I’ve worked here.

One particular youth and I got really close over the year that she attended Club. She felt very safe about confiding in me about her personal life. When it came time that I thought she needed to talk to an actual therapist, I was able to help her make those steps. It was really powerful to be in that role, and that she felt safe with me to confide about that. I got to see her continue to junior high, and she still visits regularly to see me and the other staff. I think that really shows the power of mentorship.

The AIFY programs are really central to helping kids be successful in their lives. Whether that’s graduating high school or making sure they have strong connections from kindergarten to adulthood—All in for Youth gives kids the opportunity to have a really bright future.