Connecting Through Caring

What started as an opportunity to volunteer with kids who have autism has turned into an opportunity to create an ongoing connection between UBC and the Canucks Autism Network (CAN).

UBC Psychology alumna Emily Stuible was looking for a way to contribute to her community and use the skills she learned from her BA when she first started volunteering with the Canucks Autism Network. Two years later Emily was hired as Director of Community Programs and Volunteer Services at CAN and this opened the door for her to create an ongoing relationship with UBC.

Emily set up a program through the UBC Community Learning Initiative to encourage students, faculty and staff to volunteer some of their time to kids with autism. This program now provides a stream of new volunteers for the Canucks Autism Network and builds value for the UBC Community Learning Initiative. And of course the best part is that there are more kids with autism getting more help across the province.

For Emily, establishing these kind of connections is part of her job, but she thinks of it as much more than that. “My favourite part of working here is the fact that we’re making a difference for children with autism and create a more supportive and inclusive environment for those kids and their families.”