The United Way of Greater Victoria (UWGV) has announced more than $95,000 in funding to support four initiatives undertaken at UVic.

“The work that we are doing with UVic is ground breaking, and other universities and United Way programs across Canada are looking at this partnership as a blueprint for establishing partnerships with universities” says UWGV Director of Community Investment and Collaboration Chris Poirier-Skelton.

UVic’s Office of Community-Based Research will receive $30,000 for two projects: to place four graduate student interns with Dialogue for Change, a new citizen-based initiative to inform, enhance and build capacity for UWGV support of long-term healthy community development; and to create an updated Community and University Resource Guide.

The Faculty of Humanities will receive $26,800 in support of University 101, which offers free, non-credit courses to people who have experience poverty, homelessness, disabilities, discrimination and other barriers to learning.

The School of Social Work will receive $8,000 to develop a student-led functional literacy outreach program for drop-in clients in the downtown core.

CanAssist will receive $15,000 to deliver interactive presentations and workshops to middle school students, helping them to develop skills and attitudes that support inclusive relationships and a welcoming school culture and to remove social barriers that can lead to loneliness, bullying and cliques.

The Centre for Youth and Society will receive $16,010 for an Evaluation Boot Camp to boost the evaluative capacity of youth and family service programs and bring evaluative thinking into the daily life of community organizations.