Alexi Manis, Program Development and Co-Ordinator for StepStones for Youth, at the group’s office on May 26, 2021.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
The organizer: Alexi Manis
The pitch: Helping raise $1.3-million
The cause: StepStones for Youth
When Alexi Manis was teaching high school a few years ago she had a student who was full of promise but constantly absent.
“There was one particular young man who I met in a Grade 9 English class who struck me as such a character,” Ms. Manis recalled from her home in Toronto. “He was witty, talented, kind, honest, hard working. But he had long stretches of absences.”
After trying in vain to contact his family, Ms. Manis discovered that the student had been living in foster care “and had struggled with so many things in his life.”
Around that time she learned about a Toronto charity called StepStones for Youth which works with young people who have been in social care and the child welfare system. The organization helps about 400 youth annually and it provides everything from educational support to assistance with housing, cooking classes and mental-health services. “Really, anything and everything you could need for a healthy adulthood,” she added.
Ms. Manis was so impressed with the charity that she eventually joined StepStones as a program director.
Like many charities, StepStones has struggled through the pandemic to keep its services operating and to raise money. The organization is funded almost entirely by donations and it needs to raise around $1.3-million annually.
One of the charity’s long-time partners, Telus Corp., increased its commitment last year and staff at the Vancouver-based telecommunications company have rallied around StepStones throughout the pandemic. They’ve held a beer-tasting event and sold refurbished phones to raise money, and at Christmas, they donated presents for StepStones’s annual holiday drive. Telus staff have also helped the organization transition its services and fundraising online.
Telus “has been one of our biggest champions,” Ms. Manis said. She added that the support proved critical in ensuring that the charity met its fundraising target in 2020 and kept its doors open.
“It’s been a challenge to pivot but it’s proven to be not too bad,” she said. “We’re excited and we’re trucking forward, and the youth know that we’re still here for them. That’s the most important thing.”
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