News + Events

  “I learned about struggle and learning to heal. Healing is possible.” “The power of being present.” “How to be joyful even if you don’t feel like it.” “God doesn’t see ‘the other’ like we do, and loves us all the same.” This past fall, youth from the 2024 Elevation Experience reunited to reflect on their time in Rwanda. During post-trip programming, they began writing their lessons on a large whiteboard. Gratitude. Joy. Humility. Strength in Community. Quickly, the whiteboard was completely filled. Though each of the eight youth had unique takeaways, they all agreed: their lives had been changed....

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  On July 3, 2006, Clea Moss was officially declared dead. After accidentally ingesting an opioid to ease the pain of a serious car accident, her heart stopped for 30 minutes. Remarkably, she woke up. Clea’s life is a remarkable journey marked by miracles and resilience similar to this. As a youth, she found herself in a difficult place. At one point, she ran away from home, got involved in organized crime, and then became a travelling hippie. Along the way, many judged her situation, saying, “Clea will never change; she will always be a user and can never manage...

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  Read 2024 Annual Report PDF  

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When Kevan Zainali and his then four-year old daughter, Esther, first slept out at YUnite Outside in 2021, they didn’t know much about the event or YU – just that their neighbour had asked them to come, and they wanted to be good neighbours. This year, as they gear up for their fourth YUnite Outside, they have expanded beyond being good neighbours, also now have empathy and greater compassion for our region’s most vulnerable. Kevan’s neighbour of several years is GVYU’s director of Support Services, Dean Klassen. When Dean asked Kevan if he’d consider sleeping outside, Kevan, a welder by...

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