2020 has been a challenging year indeed and, just like most people around the world, we had to think on our feet and come up with the next steps as we navigated around uncertain and unprecedented times due to COVID-19.
We started the year optimistic for the big goals we were ready to tackle, including our new career fair and #Impact2020 events that we planned to introduce this year. Then, the unexpected happen, a global pandemic that forced us to shut down and shift our focus on what’s important – access to online education and technology in addition to the Black Lives Matter movement (BLM). BLM deserved this attention when everybody had no more excuses but to pay attention to the inequality that BIPOC population faces in the world today.
Although challenging, we realized this year was also the time to learn new things and plan for the organization’s future in a more strategic way. We continued to work with our long-term partners at Shopify, Citrix Canada, Salesforce and Humber College, and welcomed new partners from Slack, MongoDB, Konrad, Alexio Corporation and GM Canada. Due to the global pandemic with keeping everyone’s safety in mind, our programs were delivered online and, as an added benefit, were able to welcome more students from across Ontario.
I couldn’t end this message without saying thank you to the community who reached out to donate their time and money because they strongly believe in our cause. A big shout out goes to Marki Sveen who, after volunteering her time as a mentor to women from our STEMing UP program for two years, has made a personal financial contribution of $6,000; funds that we used to subsidize WiFi access for girls in the program.
Of course, a big gratitude goes to my team who dedicated countless hours to ensure we continued delivering quality programs, despite the challenges we faced throughout this year. I would also like to thank Karen Chan for her remarkable role as Chair of the hEr VOLUTION Board of Directors. With this being her final year on the Board, I would like to recognize her support to the organization from raising funds and awareness about hEr VOLUTION with every opportunity she had, raising the bar when it comes to being a great role model for the next generation of leaders.
Last but not least, I want to thank the young women who enrolled in our programs and did not let a pandemic stop their learning, despite facing difficult challenges and virtual learning fatigue.
On to the next big thing!
Yours truly,
Doina Oncel, Founder/CEO