The Social Diversity for Children’s Foundation was founded by high school students in 2010. Since then, SDC remains youth-led and works to amplify the voices of passionate leaders fighting for equal opportunities. The first step to making a difference is to take action and spread your message. As a welcoming community, we embrace new volunteers who have an interest in helping others. For the month of April, we are proud to have Nhien Van as our Person of the Month. Nhien is one of our dedicated Program Coordinators, who joined SDC to support the community by educating and empowering youth. 

Nhien grew up in Vancouver and attended Magee Secondary School. Currently, she attends Langara and is studying in their Education Assistant Program. This program is dedicated to adaptive learning with students who have exceptionalities, similar to our programs at SDC! During the pandemic, Nhien perfected her air fryer chicken and continues to cook in her free time. She believes that kindness goes a long way, no matter how small the action. Nhien encourages others to perform small acts of kindness throughout their day, whether that means smiling or saying thank you whenever you can. '

Nhien began her journey with SDC in September 2021. She believes the people that worked alongside her the past year have been of the most memorable parts of her experience. Seeing her students proudly showcase their work and step out of their comfort zone motivates Nhien to continue to learn. She strives to assist instructors as best as she can and also guide newer volunteers with their responsibilities and tasks. 

In this position she has been an excellent component to some of our Education through Creativity program sets as well as to the newer Drama for Diversity program. She has not only coordinated but also volunteered in our Drama for Diversity program and continues to work closely with the instructor for more upcoming projects. With expert skills in coordination for all aspects of our programs from communicating with parents, students to instructors and more, this has been incredibly impactful to keeping our programs up and running. 

In less than a year as a program coordinator, Nhien had made tremendous progress towards actions and change. She deeply cares about our programs, students and volunteers. Nhien is grateful to SDC for raising awareness and expanding her perspective on bias. She has been inspired from the work ethic and motivation witnessed in our volunteers and youth around her that have caused her to become a better trusted adult that anyone can reach out to. Passionate about what she does, Nhien hopes to continue to impart more meaningful contributions in the future.