Mobilizing people to help strengthen the social services sector

Waheeda Ali grew up in a culture where women were taught that they should be seen and not heard. That women shouldn’t be educated. “And breaking free from that is something I’ve always found very difficult — I internalized a lot of it,” she said.

Despite becoming a program manager at CAYR Community Connections, she found herself questioning her abilities. Then Ali’s executive director proposed that she apply for United Way Greater Toronto (UWGT)’s Next Leaders for Change, a competitive leadership development program that involves monthly sessions where participants learn about everything from diversity, equity and inclusion to data analysis.

Ali made it into the program’s first cohort in 2023 and she attributes it to sparking her journey in finding her full potential and voice.

“I don’t have to be loud to be heard. It helped me overcome my imposter syndrome, always questioning myself,” she said. “Since Next Leaders for Change, I have become more confident and more proud of who I am as a woman.”

In many ways, Ali personifies the work that United Way does. “We don’t do anything alone,” said Nicole McVan, vice-president of philanthropy and marketing at UWGT.

“Waheeda works at one of the agencies that we fund, but she’s also an emerging leader in the sector and on top of her work at the agency, we want to make sure that we are giving her any skills and capacity-building for her to keep growing and become a stronger leader than the social services sector,” McVan said.

While a significant part of McVan’s role is to inspire enthusiasm for United Way communities and create opportunities for people to give back, a crucial part of UWGT’s work is focused on making it possible for people who want to give of their time and talent to benefit the community.

“We can’t do this alone,” said McVan, adding that the organization needs people from different industries and with different perspectives to do the work that UWGT does.

Case in point: Consider that United Way can raise more than $100 million in a year. “This is still not enough in terms of the need out there in the community and we need help in making sure we are using the funds in the best way,” said McVan.

Having volunteers such as Debashis Sarkar, an engineer with an MBA in finance and marketing, on its grants advisory board helps the agency ensure the funds are used well. He leverages both his professional experience in finance and work with organizations from around the world, lending a critical eye on the numbers.

For Sarkar, who’s been volunteering with United Way for 11 years, he gains the opportunity for personal development and continued learning, while also enjoying the reward of being able to help somebody out.

“I can make a difference right there,” he said of the impact of the hours he devotes to the cause each year. Having immigrated to Canada 15 years ago, Sarkar said that his volunteering exposed him to other viewpoints and engaged him in conversations he may not have had otherwise, which helped him integrate into the country.

For some volunteers, their longtime dedication to the cause has brought them full circle. Twenty years ago, Michael James was in his 50s, working at the Bernard Betel Centre for Creative Living — a United Way-funded agency — teaching computer skills to senior citizens.

Eventually, he started speaking as a volunteer with United Way about his work with older adults, a vulnerable group he has recently realized he’s become part. “I am that senior who’s aging in a city that doesn’t quite like seniors very much,” James said.

While it’s been an emotional shift personally, and he is now retired, James remains committed to devoting time every week volunteering with United Way. He taps into his background in theatre and public speaking to mentor other members of United Way’s Speakers Bureau, helping them become better at sharing their personal stories.

“These people’s experiences are extraordinary and to have an ability to help them share their story that apparently makes a difference – I am humbled by that.”