SFU Student-Community Engagement Competition 2025

SFU Student-Community Engagement Competition

SFU Student-Community Engagement Competition 2025

July 04, 2025

The SFU Student-Community Engagement Competition provides SFU students with supportive funding to make their innovative, community-focused ideas a reality. By working with community partners, students across the University鈥檚 three campuses have developed projects that reach new depths of local support.

In 2025, we are proud of the creativity and effort displayed by the awardees. The projects include support for the preservation of Indigenous language and oral history, the provision of preventive occupational health measures, inter-generational connectivity, and much further.

Beyond the invaluable care demonstrated for the community, we are delighted that the Competition allows students to further develop their leadership, project management, and stakeholder collaboration skills in a real-world environment. As they progress, we are excited to hear about these students鈥� experiences and the impact they鈥檝e been able to achieve.

Hai虂色zaqv岣穉 la N虛a虂岣穔vax虒v / Speaking Heiltsuk in the City

A language immersion workshop series, the Urban Hai虂色zaqv岣穉 team is pleased to host a three-day long marathon of language and cultural sharing for and by community. Urban Hai虂色zaqv岣穉 community members will practice speaking their Ancestral Tongue in the city and reconnect with belongings held at local institutions.

Team Name: Urban Hai虂色zaqv岣穉 Team
Team Members: Danika Shaw (Indigenous Language Proficiency Program, SFU), Ben Chung (M.A. Linguistics, SFU)
Community Partners: ,

An Art Installation by Youth in Care

Our Art Installation showcases the creativity, lived experiences and aspirations of Youth in Care through artwork, poetry, and personal narratives. This collaborative initiative is designed to empower Youth in Care by providing them with an expressive platform while fostering connection and understanding within the broader community.

Team Name: Art, Adolescence and Agency
Team Members: Khoa Vo (English Literature and Criminology), Pok Mang Tong (Urban Studies), Tzezl Lau (Urban Studies), SFU.
Community Partners: ,

Would Care for Underserved Communities

Bandage and Beyond aims to provide wound care kits, educational outreach, and care conversations to underserved communities in the Downtown Eastside (DTES), focusing on preventing complications from minor wounds. The initiative also integrates community engagement to improve accessibility to care and empower individuals to manage wounds effectively, addressing systemic health barriers while promoting health equity.

Team Name: Bandage and Beyond
Team Members: Raj Saini (BSc. Health Sciences, SFU), Joy Yang (BCom, Sauder School of Business, UBC), Jane Tjandra (BSc. Health Sciences, SFU), Vanesse Li (BSc. Microbiology and Immunology, UBC)
Community Partners: , , , , , ,

Generations of Kinship

The Generations of Kinship program aims to connect Chinese seniors and youths through storytelling and art-based workshops. By creating opportunities to share stories, preserve traditions, and build relationships, we strive to reduce social isolation among seniors, reconnect youth with their heritage, and strengthen Chinatown鈥檚 sense of community.

Team Members: Angel Leung (Department of Psychology, SFU), Phanie Phan (Department of Psychology and Beedie School of Business, SFU)
Community Partners: Strathcona Community Centre, Chinese Canadian Historical Society of British Columbia ()

Breakfast Club Pilot Program

The pilot Breakfast Club Program at Ferris Elementary aims to offer every Ferris student a healthy breakfast in a welcoming environment. By promoting well-being and addressing food insecurity, it helps students start their day with the energy and focus they need to learn and grow.

Team Name: SuperMom
Team Member: Rachel Ling (Master of Public Policy, SFU)
Community Partner:

NaloxHome: Access for All 鈥� Culturally Sensitive Naloxone and Overdose Education in Diverse Communities

Access For All by NaloxHome Society is a student-led initiative that brings culturally safe drug education and naloxone training into newcomer communities. Through analyzing data about overdose death rates in communities, the AFA team recognized a gap between reality and availabile services for racialized populations. Under NaloxHome Society's mission to bring drug education into BC schools, Access For All will bring this same lifesaving curriculum into cultural centres, places of gathering, and religious spaces across the Fraser Health Region to decrease the number of preventable overdose deaths.

Team Name: NaloxHome
Team Members: Nicholas Tjandra - SFU Health Sciences (BSc.), Chloe Goodison - SFU Health Sciences (BSc.)
Community Partners: Lead Agency:

Lights, Camera, Inclusion: Inspiring Empathy and Unity

Supported by the SFU Student-Community Engagement Grant, Inspired 2 Uplift (I2U) is proud to put into motion the project Lights, Camera, Inclusion--a series of animated education videos aimed at fostering awareness, empathy, and inclusion around disabilities, tailored to an elementary-aged audience. Through creative collaboration and engaging storytelling, the project aims to minimize stigma, alternatively sparking compassion throughout schools, communities, and families.

Team Name: Inspired 2 Uplift
Team Members: Farzan Ustad - SFU, B.Sc. Data Science, Aidan Gibbons - UBCO, B.Mgmt, Ali Azhar - Langara, General Sciences, Max Chung - SFU, BBA and Concentration in Accounting & Finance, Jen Tkach - UBCV, B.A in English
Community Partner: Mohammad Al-Faris

Consensually Non-monogamous Mental Health Support Group

The Consensually Non-monogamous (CNM) Mental Health Support Group is an 8-week closed mental health group for individuals who identify as CNM, offering two streams: (1) 2SLGBTQQIA+ and (2) open group. Each stream, co-facilitated by two counsellors with lived CNM experience, will provide psychoeducation, peer support, and affirmative mental health support while fostering community, inclusion, and understanding.

Team Name: CNM Support Group
Team Member: Hailea Williams, Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology, SFU
Community Partner:

Food-to-Table Happy Feet Kit

Gingerbread Team, in collaboration with Umbrella Multicultural Health Co-op, we want to provide a set of workshops "focused on educating agricultural workers about proper foot care and fungus prevention, specifically tailored to the unique challenges of working on farms," alongside a kit with a list of effective over-the-counter medications. After all, these workers bring food to our table in BC.

Team Name: Gingerbread
Team Members: Amari Flores (SFU, BGS in Education), Po Hsuan Shao (SFU, B. Psychology), Trevor Stolz (SFU, BGS in Education), Citlalli Gonzalez (SFU, Joint Major, anthropology and archaeology)
Community Partners: , Yared DIliegros from UMC.

Refugee and Immigrant Tutoring Program

The Refugee and Immigrant Tutoring Program provides a free resource to support those new to Canada, particularly those pursuing education in grades K-12 or ELL. Our goal is to create a welcoming and encouraging environment where students receive support in individualized approaches, as well as ensure equitable access to resources and opportunities.

Team Members: Neena Dhaliwal (Kinesiology Major, SFU), Jocelyn Heywood (Biology Major, SFU), Ryan Yazdani (Health Sciences Major, SFU), Tedd Nelson, Mataya Lukas, Austin Cote-Rolvink
Community Partners: Schools in : , , , , , , ,

Salam Central Summer Day Camp

Salam Central's School's Out Summer Day Camp is a youth run camp designed for Muslim children between the ages 5 - 12 living in Surrey. The free program runs full-time for three weeks in July creating opportunities for children to learn, grow and form friendships.

Team Name: Salam Central
Team Members: Muryam Babar (SFU: Arts & Social Sciences), Burhan Aziz (SFU: Engineering Science), Safa Jabbar (SFU: MBB & CS), Mahado Hassan (SFU: Master of Public Health), Neam Khan (SFU: Health Science), Mahnoor Khan (SFU: SIAT), Zia Khan (KPU), Ayan Hassan (Douglas)
Community Partners: (not confirmed), SD36: Elementary school rental space

Blooming Connections: Intergenerational Flower Workshops

Blooming Connections is a unique intergenerational floral workshop that brings together SFU students and older adults to create floral arrangements, share life experiences, and foster mutual understanding through a shared creative process. This initiative, supported by West End Seniors Network, builds bridges between generations and celebrates creativity, storytelling, and community.

Team Name: Blooming Connections
Team Members: Samantha Teichman (PhD Candidate, Department of Gerontology, SFU), Sydney Witoski, founder of FLOWERHOUSE Studios
Community Partner:

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