ProjectBe
GCWCC Youth Council podcast: Catalyst for Change
GCWCC Youth Council podcast: Catalyst for Change
Transcript - GCWCC Youth Council podcast: Catalyst for Change
Hello everyone.
Welcome to the inaugural episode
of the Government of Canada
Workplace Charitable Campaign
[GCWCC] Youth Council podcast Catalyst for Change.
Where we dive
deep into the heart of giving, engagement
and the power of young professionals
in the public service.
I am Shoaib Rizvi,
my pronouns are he/him, from the Public Health
Agency of Canada and the GCWCC Youth Council.
I have short black hair, and I am 28 years
old, young man of Pakistani descent.
I am wearing a white dress shirt, an orange sweater,
a black tie, and a white blazer.
Today we are exploring how early
career public servants are shaping
a culture of generosity, innovation
and impact to the GCWCC.
I respectfully acknowledge the land on
which I work and live
is the traditional territory
of the Algonquin Anishinaabe people.
Wherever we are across the country,
let us acknowledge that the land on which we gather
today is the traditional territory
of the Indigenous people.
We honour the enduring presence
of the diverse First Nation,
Inuit, and Métis communities,
and their contribution to this land.
From coast to coast to coast public servants
work every day to improve the lives of Canadians.
But beyond policy and program, they are also making
a difference through giving back.
And that's where the GCWCC Youth Council comes in.
Joining me today is Raphaëlle [Robidoux],
a passionate advocate
and a key voice behind ProjectBe,
to discuss the mission of the Youth Council,
the game-changing approach of this initiative
and what's next for this growing movement.
Welcome Raphaëlle.
Could you please introduce yourself and share
more about your role in this exciting journey?
And for those who may not be familiar with ProjectBe
could you please provide an overview of what it is?
Thank you.
Thank you so much, Shoaib, I’m glad to be here.
Hello everyone! As mentioned, my name is Raphaëlle.
I’m the youth chair for the Government of Canada
Workplace Charitable Campaign (GCWCC) Youth Council.
My pronouns are “elle”, “she/her” in English. I’m
a white woman with blond hair.
Today, I’m wearing a white wool cardigan
with a grey T-shirt, and I’m very happy to be able
to talk a little more about ProjectSois, ProjectBe
in English, and the Youth Council.
So, for my career path, I joined the public service
in 2017 as a student, and at that time,
I was looking for a way to connect a bit more
with my colleagues.
I was doing a lot of independent research.
I wanted to socialize, but I wasn’t sure
how to go about it as a young professional.
And that’s when I got an email looking for volunteers
for the charitable campaign.
I didn’t know
about the charitable campaign at the time,
but I told myself
it would be a good excuse to talk to people.
So, I volunteered.
That’s when I found myself learning more about the GCWCC
during the training sessions
given by the United Way Centraide ambassadors.
It was really eye-opening for me
to go through that training
and to learn more about the GCWCC because up until
now I’ve been donating mostly to local communities
and, of course, that is wonderful
and you see that tangible impact of your donations
but I learned that through the campaign
you can actually give to thousands
of local communities across the country
from coast to coast to coast
and that was really inspiring to me.
And then when I started actually
walking the hallways with my clipboard,
you know checking off the names of the people
that I had spoken to,
I realized that so many of my colleagues
and fellow public servants had personal histories
to share about the campaign.
Some of them wanted to share
how the campaign had personally impacted them
some of their family members, their friends,
their communities.
Some of them wanted to share about struggles
that they had experienced,
or about the ways
in which they were involved themselves
in making the world a better place through community
efforts, advocacy work, other kinds of involvement.
And I realized that even though we may all come
to the same workplace, we don't necessarily
all share what most matters to us
unless we have a chance to do so in a safe way
and unless we feel that we have the space
to express those needs,
those concerns, those priorities
and to really feel that sense of community.
And for me the campaign became a way to do that
and to give that space to my colleagues.
I loved the experience so much
that I volunteered again in 2018 and again in 2019
but then in 2020 as you know the pandemic hit and
we all ended up waiting at home for a few months,
or those of us who did not have critical jobs
for the pandemic response
that in any case I do want to acknowledge
that many of us worked even harder during that time.
But as for myself, I was looking for a way
to make a difference from home
without my VPN connection
and so I started learning about the public service.
I realized that the Federal Youth Network, it goes
by FYN, the acronym FYN, had weekly learning series.
And those weekly learning series
were designed to help young and new public servants
learn about different ways
that we could contribute as public servants.
There were interviews where you could kind of showcase a day in the life of a public servant
and that specific week I tuned in to the FYN learning series
and I happened to learn about the GCWCC Youth
Council Co-Chairs, Melissa and Kristen,
and they talked about their experience
as Youth co-chairs for the National campaign
and what it was like being the voice of young
and new professionals at the GCWCC governance table,
and getting to consult with Young Professionals
Networks across the country to hear
what really mattered
to this new demographic of donors
and this new demographic of public servants
who could become engaged in helping others
through the campaign.
I absolutely loved the interview
and I reached out to Melissa.
And so I had coffee with her, at a distance,
at a safe distance
and I learned a lot about the Youth Council
from that discussion.
I joined the very next day, and I have been involved
with the National Youth Council ever since.
So it will have been five years this year.
It’s really been a wonderful journey,
and I am so grateful to
meet so many amazing
young and new professionals along the way.
We’ve also grown a lot, because when I joined
the Youth Council, there were five of us.
This year, we will be 20 departments and agencies
from all regions of Canada.
Also, people with different backgrounds,
different professions.
It’s up to the public service to instill in people
a desire to have an impact on their community.
So it’s really been a way for me
to get to know my colleagues,
but also to be able to express various concerns
in a way that’s visible at the national level
for the campaign.
So, I see that as a sort of progression,
from having an impact on my local community,
which is also important and valuable,
to having an impact on my department
and now to having an impact in this new way.
So, I am really proud of the work
that we’ve been able to accomplish.
That's wonderful to hear.
And I'm also quite
proud to be one of those young professionals.
One thing I noticed when I joined
is that the Youth Council does not only allow us
to give back, we also grow as professionals
that will be helpful in our everyday work.
For example, like I am a policy
analyst at the Public Health Agency of Canada.
But through this project
and through GCWCC Youth Council,
I am learning how to do podcasts,
meeting new incredible senior
colleagues, young leaders
and people from all across the public service
who have a new lens to looking at things.
But let's start at the heart of it all.
How is the GCWCC Youth Council fostering a culture
of giving back among early career public servants?
I am really glad to hear that you’ve
had this experience with the Youth Council.
I think this is exactly what we strive for
when we created this new structure
for the Youth Council,
which really gives a bit more power and impact
to everyone who chooses to have a leadership role
in the council regardless
of whether they are the chair,
the co-chair or one of our members,
everyone has a chance to lead an initiative
that has a philanthropic goal to it
and I do think that makes a big difference
for young and new professional members.
It also means that everyone
gets to see their interests
and their concerns reflected in the work that we do
and in turn, in the campaign.
And that inclusive aspect
makes it more meaningful, I think not only for us, the members,
but also for young professionals’ networks
across the country
and for the young and new professionals
that we represent.
In fact, it’s
really about identifying diverse voices
in new perspectives on campaign leadership
and innovating through creative practices.
For example, counting the time spent on the campaign
in addition to the money donated.
Because we know young and new professionals
have many ways to give
that are not necessarily
the ones that we think of traditionally.
We also want to bring in more of
a community solidarity element, for example,
in the messages we share on social media.
We make sure that we have personal stories
from new public servants or youth
who were helped in their community by the campaign.
Sometimes, they’re one and the same person.
But we really want to create a space where everyone
feels welcome and can contribute to the campaign.
I think this isn’t just encouraging something
that is besides the point in the sense
that the culture of service is really embedded
into what we do and who we are as public servants.
And I see it as the natural extension of the work
we do in our daily lives.
We’re giving back through our work,
and so we should also be giving back
through the volunteer work that we do.
And one of the most exciting ways of the youth
council is doing this through ProjectBe.
Let's talk about how this initiative is redefining
the way we think about giving.
For sure, so ProjectBe is a cause-based platform.
It is part of the broader GCWCC umbrella
so it is a part of the campaign
but it was an initiative that was created by
and for young and new public servants.
This being said, people of all ages
can and are encouraged to donate using ProjectBe.
But this is really a cause-based
extension of the campaign.
And so, when you open up the ePledge form,
if you are a public servant
and you have access to the ePledge
to donate, you will see that there is an option
to give to specific causes, which we call pillars.
Those pillars were selected in consultation
with young professionals’ networks
and young and new professionals across the country
and they can evolve to reflect the changing concerns
of this new generation of public servants as well.
So, right now, the pillars that we have
are Indigenous Causes.
This pillar was created specifically in 2020
to address the impact of COVID
on Indigenous communities.
We also have Youth Mental Health and Addiction,
which was the initial pillar
when ProjectBe was founded in 2016.
And we also have Addressing Homelessness,
or more broadly you could say
poverty reduction efforts which again reflects
concerns around the rising cost of living, inflation
and was really meant to help
those that are less fortunate among us.
Those pillars are also all interlocked,
which I think is a big part of why the message
is resonating with young and new professionals.
If you have mental health struggles,
you may not be able to afford or keep a home.
If you experience poverty,
you may not be able to get the help
you need from a healthcare perspective
because you don’t have a stable address.
And of course,
we know that the Indigenous communities
are experiencing specific realities,
geographically for example,
that make it more difficult to access the services
and the opportunities that they deserve.
And so, we really do want to make that impact
from all angles and have that unified approach
to making Canada better for everyone.
And those three pillars, Homelessness, Youth and
Mental Health and Indigenous support are so vital.
So, can you break down
why these specific causes were chosen?
For sure.
So a big part of that was networking
and engaging with young and new public servants.
We wanted to make sure that we spoke to them
when we selected the pillars
to make sure that the causes they chose to donate to
in their own personal lives reflected the pillars
and that they felt that they were represented
in this initiative and,
of course, in the broader campaign as well.
But I think from a more holistic perspective,
those pillars
reflect some of the most pressing
social challenges of our times.
As you know, homelessness is a crisis
that is affecting millions of people of all ages,
and mental health and addiction challenges, sadly,
are becoming more and more prevalent
especially among youth.
Part of that might be breaking the sigma
but I believe part of
that is also the unique social conditions
in which we find ourselves now
and I think we as public servants
have a duty to serve others
and to help them in anyway
we can including, of course, Indigenous peoples
advancing towards the path
to reconciliation and social justice.
And so, as I have mentioned,
those causes are deeply interconnected
but they were also chosen because this is what young
and new professionals decided,
and we do want to be their voice
at the leadership table at all times.
I love that it's not just about giving,
but about making a strategic impact.
Now, engaging young professionals is key.
What innovative approaches
have been used to boost youth participation?
For sure, that is a great question.
I think a big part of our strategy has been to really
look for young public servants where they are.
So, with the pandemic, the change to hybrid
work really helped us have an impact across Canada.
Before, we had a habit of mostly consulting
within the National Capital Region.
But the pandemic helped us realize that we can work
closely with colleagues from all over the country,
thanks to the digital tools
we were equipped with during the crisis.
So, now we have lots of digital campaigns
and digital participation sessions that are open
to people all over the country and even beyond.
But of course,
we also want to maintain in-person contact.
We make sure we meet regularly with, for example,
the Federal Youth Network, the National Capital
Region network, youth volunteers and young public
servants, the Student Network.
So, we want to keep these human connections,
and we are also trying to encourage our members
in the regions, throughout the country,
to have these in-person connections,
also with the organizations that help one another.
So, we want to really make sure
we have this national presence.
For example, last year, we organized volunteer days
in the National Capital Region.
This year, we want to not only do it here,
but also ensure that all our members
who are in the regions also have the opportunity
to organize their own volunteer day
for their colleagues, friends and families,
and can show what they’re doing
on social media for people
who don’t necessarily have access
to opportunities organized by the government,
to see various charity organizations
and say ah, I can go too, it’s not far from me.
It’s something I can do concretely to help others.
It’s really about finding ways
to make our presence known.
And overall, I would say
we are just creating a personal connection
so that we can fuel even more engagement.
And the engagement is clearly paying off.
In 2016, ProjectBe raised $35,000.
By 2023, over 2.6 million. Wow.
What's driving this momentum?
I think it is a combination of trust, passion,
but also visibility.
Public servants, young and new public servants,
but also all public servants,
see the impact of donations.
And I think that allows them to feel comfortable,
to continue to show their generosity in this way.
Because public servants, people in general,
Canadians, will always be generous.
I think the key is to show them
that there are different ways
to have an even more effective impact
on their community.
It’s from there, from this type of visibility, that we can
make sure there are projects like ProjectBe.
They will become more and more popular.
I also want to say that I’m really very appreciative
of young professionals because their enthusiasm,
their creativity, their appetite for social justice,
are absolutely incredible.
Young and new professionals,
I think, have truly transformed
this initiative,
as they are transforming the public service,
and it is up to us to make sure that we reflect
that change we want to see as well.
That's incredible.
And looking ahead,
where do you see ProjectBe going next?
Yes, I mean the growth as you
mentioned is remarkable.
I am so grateful for it
but we’re also just getting started.
We would like to expand our reach.
We would like to find ways to engage, for example,
smaller agencies
who may not have had as much exposure
to the campaign in the past
and really bring them into the fold as well.
We know they have many young and new professionals
who could really benefit, not only from exposure
to the broader Government of Canada network
socially and professionally but also from access
to those ways to make an impact.
And we would like to continue finding ways
to innovate in charitable giving as well.
Expanding the time tracking initiative, for example,
to better understand
how much time is spent on the campaign
and how that can fuel engagement
in addition to monetary donations.
Making it easier to get involved overall, I would
say is also a key concern for us at all times.
That could be workplace volunteering
it could be having more digital communication tools
or it could be enhancing our partnerships
with community organizations across the country.
That's inspiring.
And before we wrap up,
can you share an example of how youth participation
has contributed to GCWCC success?
That’s a good question. That's a great question.
I’d say there’s one example for me
that really touched me.
It was the volunteer day
that I mentioned a bit earlier.
So, with my group here, in
the National Capital Region,
we went to make lunch for youth
experiencing homelessness
and at risk of mental health issues.
It was really a great experience,
I must say, because despite the challenges
these youth face, I saw how happy they were
to come to this organization,
how happy they were to get together that morning
and meet the workers, to have access to food,
but also simply to have access to one another.
And for us, as volunteers,
it was amazing to be able to organize ourselves
so that for an entire week, there were always Youth
Council members there to cook,
so that the workers could concentrate
on their relationship with the youth.
It’s something that doesn’t require
a lot of time, but has an impact
beyond the investment we put into it.
I think this is the type of example
we want to set and continue
to show to really inspire people
across the community to do the same.
It’s fantastic when one person or five people do it,
but when we can really be brave
and show what we can do as a community, I think
that is when we can have the greatest impact.
And I also really treasure
seeing young professionals and new professionals
going through their involvement
with the Youth Council.
Our members are always impressing me
with their drive, their creativity, their passion.
And one example of an initiative
that came from a talented young member
is this podcast actually
and you would be the talented young member Shoaib.
But really seeing all of you
having those amazing ideas and making those ideas
a reality with your hard work, your work ethic,
your dedication, your passion,
that has always felt very meaningful to me,
and I look forward to seeing even more young
and new professionals,
growing up professionally
and personally through the youth council
and through the involvement
that they have with charity in their communities.
So, as we plan the 2025 campaign, this is my time
to say we are actively recruiting new members
and I would love to meet new individuals
who would like to contribute in this way.
So if you are a young or new professional,
and by young we really mean young at heart,
we usually look for people with less than five years
experience in the public service
because this is an ideal way to grow that network
and to get to know more
about the public service as you give back
but really anyone is welcome.
Please feel free to email me.
I would love to have coffee with you as well.
Pay it forward.
Cold emails are welcome, and I really just look
forward to seeing what we can accomplish in 2025.
Thank you so much, Raphaëlle. And,
as I always say, you have taken me into your wings.
And I learned so much just by working with you.
And, like, you know, this whole experience
has been a very rewarding experience.
So that's the power of young professionals driving
change, fostering connections and making an impact.
To everyone listening,
remember, your generosity matters.
Whether it's a dollar
a week or a major contribution, every donation to
GCWCC helps someone in need.
And the best part?
You get to choose where your gift goes.
So, if you are a new or young public servant
like me, this is your chance to make a difference.
Reach out to your department's Campaigns
Committee, your Young Professionals Network, or the
GCWCC Youth Council to get involved.
Let's keep this momentum going.
Thank you Raphaëlle for your insights,
and thank you to all public servants
for your commitment to building a better
and a more compassionate Canada.
Until next time, keep moving, keep giving,
keep engaging, and keep making a difference.
Thank you so much.
Who Are We?
Launched in 2016, ProjectBe is an initiative of the Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaign (GCWCC) Youth Council, run by and for young and emerging public servants. We connect public servants to a cause in their local community by raising awareness, encouraging volunteerism, and fundraising.
Through an cause-driven donation opportunity, ProjectBe allows public servants to donate directly to organizations that support our four specific pillars:
- Mental health
- Poverty reduction: From poverty to possibility
- Building health and equity in our communities
- Access to health services for vulnerable populations
Over the past few years, we have focused our support on different causes, including refugee integration. Our pillars may evolve to reflect emerging priorities among public servants. They are selected through engagement with young and new professionals, reflecting a rich diversity of voices and backgrounds.
Why Give to ProjectBe?
Through ProjectBe, you can focus your generosity towards local community organizations that work to support a specific cause!
Thanks to you, ProjectBe has seen tremendous growth. We went from raising $35,000 in 2016, our inaugural year, to raising nearly $2 million in donations in 2024. Witnessing your commitment and dedication to helping the less fortunate has been nothing short of amazing, but there is still work to be done.
Give Now
Giving is easy and secure with ProjectBe.
For Departments and Agencies using ePledge, you will be able to determine the amount you wish to donate to one of the three pillars of ProjectBe. You can then choose your method of payment: payroll deduction, credit card, or PayPal.
Click the "Give Now" button to get started!
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