Our team had the privilege of interviewing Kevin Yang, the Executive Director of Canada Scores Vancouver about a successful work pilot program last summer, sponsored by Envision Financial.
1. Question: Starting things off Kevin, can you tell us a bit about your story and what Canada Scores Vancouver does for the local community?
Answer: Canada Scores is a free after school program. It's unique because the program covers soccer, poetry, and community projects. We work closely with vulnerable school districts and work with schools directly. 100% of kids are referred to us through schools.
2. Question: Your organization was involved in the Envision Financial Douglas College Community Building Program last year. How useful were the research & recommendations from the students? Do you recall their findings?
Answer: We partnered with students, which gave us an outside perspective. We had a change of staff halfway through the semester. It was like a communication challenge in real life. Canada Scores is difficult to describe to people since it's not just soccer. How to position Canada Scores in the market was the main problem for the students to solve. Social Media was also a challenge for us. We are a small organization with little time for marketing. Most of our time is focused on the cause, programs, and fundraising. Marketing often gets put on the back burner.
3. Question: During the work pilot program, what activities were implemented? Were they successful?
Answer: Students presented a significant Social Media Plan for us. It was a really good recommendation by the group of Douglas College students. We had additional funding to help implement the project. We also had a social media calendar to follow. It was a big success because we’re more active now on social media.
4. Question: You mentioned in our survey that there were students in the work pilot in 2019, but they weren’t the same students that did the research for your organization. Do you think this made a difference?
Answer: Yes. They spent a lot of time learning about our organization. There was a retraining period. The student research team, however, came to the program and watched our programs, did site visits, event visits, and had in-depth knowledge.
5. Question. Based on how the whole experience went, are there any recommendations you’d like to express about the work pilot and the Community Building Program?
Answer: The student research is great. The Work Pilot has things to improve on. I felt like the work project the engagement was lower because students have competing priorities and couldn’t engage as much as they wanted. The research team should implement the findings… Or at least some of them at least should be part of the implementation process.
6. Question: Was there anything else that you’d like to summarize or touch on?
Answer: There is value in the work pilot program and it’s a great idea. A challenge for a non-profit is the lack of resources. Taking the concepts and actually executing them is extremely important. Let’s make the work pilot happen again. There’s definitely value in both components: the research and the work pilot program.
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Written by: Joseph Mullins
The PR&Coordinator Team, Winter 2020
