Thursday, May 16, 2024

Affirming Partnerships in Our Communities

The CLAC Foundation is all about supporting positive change in peoples lives so they can in turn pursue meaningful training initiatives and job opportunities

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By Darren Shearer, CLAC Foundation Partnership Manager

How do you or I go about affecting someone’s life in a positive way to encourage meaningful change?

It can seem like a monumental undertaking, but it doesn’t need to be. Small, practical resources that you or I may take for granted, like transportation or literacy, can be offered to others that may impact their life.

Project Adult Literacy Society (PALS) hosted the Diversity in Literacy Conference on Saturday, May 25, 2024, at NorQuest College in Edmonton. It was an exciting day full of a variety of fun and educational workshops and presentations for adult learners, tutors, and the broader community. The event celebrates diversity and showcases inclusive literacy practices, promotes cultural awareness, and builds a collaborative community.

PALS is just one of the CLAC Foundation’s 13 unique partnerships across Canada. Globally, the foundation has supported organizations in countries ranging from Argentina, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Indonesia, Honduras, and the United States. It is incredibly inspiring to be involved in the good work happening in our local communities in Canada as well as the worldwide efforts to improve lives in the workplace.

The CLAC Foundation’s mission is simple: We exist to enable individual and community transformation through positive, rewarding, and fulfilling work. All persons should receive equal access to services.

Sometimes, that can be helping a person by giving them a ride to a training session or to a job interview. Other times, it can be supporting a program, like we do with PALS, where a person can improve their skills in reading, writing, numeracy, language, and digital literacy.

Developing literacy skills can give a person a sense of dignity, inclusion, and respect. When someone builds on their foundational skills, they see a positive change in their self-confidence and are more likely to pursue a career they have passion for.

I consider myself fortunate to be working for the CLAC Foundation. Its core values deeply align with my own personal beliefs.

Everyone should have a chance to access support when they need it. No matter where we are in our lives, from time to time we all need a community to lean on.

It isn’t always clear what supports we need and where they are available. Through my work, I hope to spread awareness of what is available, how to access it, and connect people with practical outcomes that will inspire positive impact.

Affirming Partnerships in Our Communities

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