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Since 1960, Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland has been making a meaningful difference in the lives of vulnerable girls by providing them with positive, female mentors. Serving the Greater Vancouver area, we are an accredited member agency of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada, with solid commitments to mentoring and child safety. Our Little Sisters are girls between the ages of 7-17 who may be suffering from low self-esteem or social isolation as a result of poverty, family distress, recent immigration or other life challenges. Serving as role models, our volunteer mentors teach by example the importance of giving and giving back, of staying in school, and of having respect for family, peers and community. We offer 3 mentoring programs: Big Sisters, Study Buddy, and Go Girls! Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds. Each time we pair a child with a mentor, we start a life-changing relationship built on friendship, trust and empowerment.

Good Shepherd Ministries (Good Shepherd Centre, Barrett House, St. Joseph’s Residence) has served the homeless in Toronto since 1963. The Centre offers hot meals (1200 meals served daily), emergency shelter for adult men (91 beds), clothing, a daily drop-in and medical care. It also offers help with finding housing, and services for homeless men recovering from addictions. Good Shepherd also works with the Royal Canadian Legion and Veterans Affairs Canada in providing services to homeless Veterans. In 2010, the organization began Good Shepherd CARES which helps provide skills training to former clients in the area of bed bug cleaning services. Barrett House provides a supportive home for six individuals living with AIDS. St. Joseph’s Residence houses seven seniors with a history of chronic homelessness. Good Shepherd Ministries serves anyone in need, without charge or distinction. Services are offered in a spirit of compassion, trust, acceptance and respect.

With the goal of helping under-served communities in India, Nepal, and Tibet receive the vital services they need, Karuna-Shechen was founded in 2000 by Matthieu Ricard (www.matthieuricard.org), renown TED speaker, author, and humanitarian. We strive to reduce inequalities and work toward a fairer and more compassionate world. We trust that communities can be lifted out of poverty, that change is possible, and that the well-being of every individual, regardless of race, gender, class, or caste, is essential. We believe that building on local strengths and knowledge is the most efficient way to respond to the specific needs and aspirations of our beneficiaries. Rooted in the ideal of "compassion in action", we serve others with joy and determination by cultivating altruism in our hearts and actions. We provide vulnerable and disadvantaged populations access to health care, education and vocational training, clean water, solar electricity, and other sustainable solutions that offer options to find a livelihood and a better life. We work with a grassroots network of local partners, and give special attention to the education and empowerment of girls and women. Karuna-Shechen's name expresses its mission while paying homage to its roots: Karuna means "compassion" in Sanskrit, and Shechen is the name of a major monastery in Tibet.

Embrace works to ensure that every baby, no matter where they are born, has access to lifesaving warmth and a chance to survive. Embrace Global is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to reducing neonatal mortality by ensuring that every baby—no matter where they are born—has access to life-saving warmth. Our mission is both simple and urgent: to provide innovative, portable incubators to the world’s most vulnerable newborns. Our vision is a world where no baby dies from preventable causes like hypothermia due to lack of access to basic care. Founded in 2007 by a team of Stanford students, Embrace developed a groundbreaking portable incubator designed specifically for low-resource settings, humanitarian emergencies, and conflict zones. These reusable devices require only an occasional power source to function, making them ideal for environments with unstable electricity. Unlike traditional incubators, Embrace incubators are easy to use, easy to clean, and built to withstand rugged conditions. What sets Embrace apart is our delivery model: -Our incubators are provided at no cost to trusted partners, ensuring equitable access for populations affected by poverty, displacement, or crisis. -We scale through partnerships with UN agencies, Ministries of Health, diaspora medical associations, and international NGOs such as CARE, UNICEF, and IRC. -We deploy rapidly and sustainably, working both in immediate emergency contexts and to strengthen local health systems for long-term impact. To date, Embrace has helped save over 1 million newborns across 25+ countries, including Ukraine, Syria, Gaza, Yemen, Zambia, and Armenia.