Kwantlen’s Community Connections
Kwantlen Polytechnic University has a proud history of community service and encourages its students, faculty and staff to spend as much time outside the classroom as inside. The University’s mission is intertwined with its long-time commitment to community involvement and enhancement.
Kwantlen believes that when community organizations work together it is people that are positively impacted. Giving back time and knowledge to the communities it serves is exemplified in Kwantlen’s many community partnerships.
The SPARK program is an innovative partnership between Kwantlen, the Surrey school district and the SPARK Educational Foundation. Initiated in 2003 by Arvinder Bubber, Kwantlen’s newly appointed chancellor, and other community leaders, this initiative is aimed at increasing the post-secondary participation of populations who do not typically pursue post-secondary studies. Students are given counseling, and academic and financial support to ease the transition into university.
Another community partnership was established last summer between Kwantlen and the Phoenix Drug and Alcohol Recovery and Education Society. This partnership provides program participants with opportunities to develop and enhance their employability and academic skills. Students currently participating in this program are already reaping the benefits of this collaboration and building a new life for themselves.
In addition to community partnerships, Kwantlen provides opportunities for students to learn through involvement. Community initiatives and collaborations give students a hands-on approach to their education.
Kwantlen’s Department of Criminology, Simon Fraser University and the Surrey RCMP partner to host forums that review plans and approaches to crime reduction and that explore causes and solutions to youth crime, homelessness and property crime in Surrey. A key outcome from the forums is the knowledge exchange among the participants on key issues. The Kwantlen-SFU initiative called ‘Community Engagement for Crime Reduction’, has received $50,000 in funding from the Canadian Council for Learning. This valuable community project is one of many where Kwantlen students, faculty and staff have used their knowledge and expertise to benefit the communities of the South Fraser region.
Kwantlen’s Institute of Sustainable Horticulture (ISH) and the School of Horticulture are key proponents of urban agriculture. Dr. Deborah Henderson, a faculty member and ISH chair, is working with municipalities to enable city centres to achieve urban sustainability by improving agri-food systems that reduce the ecological footprint.
Kwantlen students volunteer their time to community initiatives. For example, “Slip, Slap, Slop and Slurp” was the message that nursing students, working with Kwantlen’s Wellness Centre, taught to over 2,000 Surrey and Delta school children to increase awareness of the protection against the harmful effects of the sun and the importance of proper hydration.
Kwantlen’s public relations students also get into the spirit of community outreach by organizing their annual fundraiser that benefits a local charitable cause. Kwantlen’s event management class, comprising both public relations and journalism students, put their knowledge and skills to the test and raised close to $5,500 for the B.C. Professional Firefighters’ Burn Fund.
Kwantlen’s efforts don’t stop locally. Internationally, Kwantlen has made a considerable impact. Early this year, Dr. Charles Quist-Adade, a sociology faculty member and president of the Canada-Ghana Association, arranged for a delivery of computers, books, sports and medical equipment to Ghana, Africa. These supplies were distributed to 16 institutions, including 10 secondary schools, an elementary school, three community libraries, the Sociology department of the University of Ghana, a hospital and an orphanage.
No one will forget the devastating tsunami that hit Southeast Asia in December 2004. Through the volunteer efforts of the English Language Studies department, Kwantlen contributed to the global aide effort by adopting an entire village school in southern India and sending donations to finance an extension on the school so the village could better accommodate its residents.
Those are some of the many extraordinary ways Kwantlen students, faculty, and staff have contributed to their communities over the past 27 years. And now, Kwantlen’s community service is more active than ever. Kwantlen’s generous efforts illustrate a strong institution with an even stronger commitment to give back to its communities.
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