Young Ambassadors for Opportunity (YAO)

Opportunity International Canada recently launched a movement to unite the growing number of young leaders (aged 18-35) who are excited about microfinance. Young people from across the country are coming together to dream and develop meaningful ways to support those living in chronic poverty around the world.

And we need YOUR help - there are plenty of ways to get involved!

Who are we?

We are a community of young professionals and students who have decided to do SOMETHING to support microfinance. How you choose to get involved is up to you - whether that means signing up for the YAO mailing list, becoming a Next2Nothing monthly giver, committing to be an Opportunity Advocate in your school or workplace, or holding an informational event or fundraiser. YAO chapters also exist across the US and in the UK. Our common thread is that, as a group of young people, we are committed to building a movement that will change the world.

Our mission is to INSPIRE, EDUCATE, and ENGAGE young leaders, empowering them to transform the lives of the poor through microfinance.

How can you participate?

Sign Up For Our YAO Canada Mailing List:
To sign up for more information and updates about happenings in your area, please click HERE. 

MicroMax Challenge Canada:
Opportunity invites you to challenge yourself to be a microentrepreneur in Canada. Can you turn $100 into an opportunity? The challenge will kick off on February 1 and give young leaders a chance to flex their entrepreneurial muscles. Opportunity International Canada has 100 “loans” available for people aged 18-35 to be used as start-up costs for a fundraising venture on behalf of Opportunity International. All proceeds will be used for the expansion of microfinance services to a new area in Colombia (with the addition of a youth entrepreneurship program) and the grand prize is an all-expense paid trip to visit OCI's trust groups and meet clients in Colombia. Click HERE for more details!

Join Us On Facebook:



Become a Next2Nothing Monthly Giver:
Give next to nothing to be part of an incredible something.
Commit to donating only ONE hour of your salary each month to giving people an opportunity through Opportunity. For students, commit to giving only $5 (and drink one less Frappuccino ;). Even if you’re only giving $5/month, in less than a year, two Next2Nothing givers will fund a loan for one entrepreneur. Click HERE to become a Next2Nothing monthly giver!   Choose any monthly gift amount and on the check-out page, make sure to specify “18-35 Movement” as the answer to the “What prompted your gift?” question (so your donation gets counted toward our Village)! Then encourage a friend to match your commitment and get that new loan funded!


Become an Opportunity Advocate:
Commit to being an official Opportunity Advocate in your school or workplace! At Opportunity, we want you to know about our work and be able to proudly explain what we do and answer questions on our behalf. Becoming an Opportunity Advocate means that you commit to:
     a)    Familiarizing yourself with a set of materials (chosen by Young Ambassador reps) that explain our work.
     b)    Listening to hand-picked guest speakers throughout the year.
     c)    Becoming a Next2Nothing Monthly Giver.
We will send up to an hour of reading material per month via email.
Our goal is to make YAO the most knowledgeable group of Opportunity ambassadors in Canada.
Download Commitment Form (.pdf) HERE

 
YAO Groups/Chapters:
YAO groups currently exist in the following locations:

       Vancouver             leecmcarter@mac.com
       Toronto                  amadonia@opportunityinternational.ca (interim)
       Quebec                  dan.klinck@gmail.com

For more information about local activities, please email the appropriate person. Make sure to also get on the general YAO Canada mailing list! Local meetings are an opportunity for you to meet others who are excited about Opportunity in your area. The meetings are a time of information-sharing, brainstorming, goal-setting and decision-making about local activities. If you are interested in starting a chapter/group near you, please contact Adele at amadonia@opportunityinternational.ca.


Get Involved In Your Own Way:
We invite you to start dreaming, get creative, and support Opportunity in a way that makes it meaningful to you. Feel free to get inspiration from the list below, or sign up for the mailing list to get connected with a local chapter.

Upcoming Events:

Calgary: Support YAO by attending an “Evening for Entrepreneurs” on April 16! Check out the amazing line-up of speakers and networking opportunities! Early bird prices until March 15.
More details at: http://www.albertaentrepreneurs.com/  

Where are the funds we raise going?

We have decided to aim high! Our ambitious financial goal is to raise the funds needed to expand Opportunity International’s core set of microfinance services (with the addition of a newly developed Youth Entrepreneurship Program) to a new village in Colombia. This village will be the default target for all funds raised by activities within the YAO movement. For a video about our work in Colombia, please click HERE .

Examples of what Young Ambassadors are doing:

Macro For Micro A group of young Canadians (Geoff Dittrich, Isabella Borowiec, Vivian Leung, and Stu McCrory) is demonstrating their true commitment to the alleviation of global poverty by embarking on a 5600km bike trip from Sydney to Perth Australia.  Throughout their three month journey, these leaders will be stopping in various cities and towns to promote their campaign and educate others, as well as to draw attention to Opportunity.  The premise behind this initiative is that “Small Things Can Make a Big Difference.” The team will solicit donations of $2.00 from people along the way to demonstrate the significant impact small donations will have when pooled together.

Wendy Denton has been keeping the YAO Facebook page full of new info! Search for "YAO Canada" to join us on Facebook!


Debbie Moscinski was tweeting on Opportunity ’s behalf before most people even knew what Twitter was! Join Opportunity on Twitter: http://twitter.com/OppIntCanada

Tara Joyce has been assisting Opportunity with web development and strategy for over a year. She recently put together our website facesofopportunity.com.

Dave Zak has been Opportunity's resource for graphic design. He designed our coffee table book Faces of Opportunity and has put in countless volunteer hours on our behalf.

 
Kuba Wesolinski and Kelly Smith have been helping with just about anything in the National Office.


Patricia Thaine, Annalese Racheter, Meaghan Horgan and Kathy Zhao have each been contributing in their own amazing ways to supporting Opportunity’s work. As work-from-home volunteers, they’ve done everything from translations to power point presentations!