On June 10, Vancouver District Student Council (VDSC) gathered at the Education Centre to showcase some of the student led initiatives funded by the Student Leadership Fund. The funding of $100 000 came from the 2024/25 VSB budget and developed in consultation with VDSC to support community-building, student leadership and fostering meaningful connections among students. A total of 66 projects were funded.

Students were excited to talk about their projects and made videos to showcase their work.  They also came together to talk about their learning experiences and gave suggestions on how the funding process can be improved.

Projects and schools that attended the student leadership fund showcase were:

• Southlands Elementary-Socks for Homeless
• Strathcona Elementary-School Community Garden
• JO/Killarney/DT-Building Bridges/Safe Spaces
• Churchill-Soft Plastics Sustainability

One of the larger projects was the Safe Space and Building Bridges initiative, a society formed by students from Killarney, John Oliver, and David Thompson Secondary. Their aim is to connect students from different VSB secondary schools to come together and build community through events, social media and discussing relevant topics on their podcasts.

In the video below Dominic from John Oliver and Prince from Killarney talk about their podcast, “The Undiscovered Stories of Safe Space.”

The diverse range of projects showcased, from environmental initiatives to study clubs, games and activities highlights students' creativity and their commitment to supporting one another.