Ted Rogers Community Grant bolsters Cybermentor

A generous $15,000 Ted Rogers Community Grant will engineer inspirational opportunities for girls taking part in Cybermentor, a program linking young minds with successful women researchers and scientists. 

With a mutual goal inspiring kids with post-secondary possibilities, the Ted Rogers Community Grant in support of Schulich School of Engineering’s Cybermentor program was announced last month. 

The $15,000 grant will help ensure Alberta girls in grades 6 to 12 can easily communicate with a carefully matched female mentor involved in science, technology, engineering or math.

Enhanced online platform

“The Ted Rogers Community Grant will allow Cybermentor to develop and enhance the online mentorship platform via the mobile application and website," explains Dr. Qiao Sun, associate dean of diversity and equity at Schulich.

"Research suggests unconscious gender biases and a lack of prominent female role models in engineering and science continue to discourage girls from fully participating in these fields. Cybermentor strives to change this by empowering girls through online mentorship."

Mentorship leads to confidence

Mentors and students connect online throughout the school year using their computers, phones or tablets. By chatting with their mentor through a secure site, the girls learn about the wealth of careers and opportunities in science and engineering, discover new interests, and gain confidence.

“At Rogers, we believe there is power in coming together to make a brighter future possible for generations to come,” says Larry Goerzen, President, Alberta and Prairies at Rogers Communications. 

“We are pleased to partner with The Schulich School of Engineering and provide support to the Cybermentor Program help make a significant difference in the lives of our young participants.”

Help for organizations across Canada

The Ted Rogers Community Grants program is dedicated to providing more than 100 community grants each year to organizations across Canada that are focused on unlocking learning and leadership opportunities to aspiring young leaders. 

These grants support charitable organizations running innovative community programs focused on inspiring youth to continue their education and to develop skills to help them succeed.

In addition to its annual community grants, Rogers helps young leaders through the Ted Rogers Scholarship Fund, a program that provides educational opportunities to the brightest young leaders across the country. Earlier this year, over 150 scholarships were awarded to deserving youth across Canada.  

Cybermentor was created by professional women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) to connect girls with role models in these exciting fields. The program involves one-on-one online mentoring to inspire girls in the pursuit of STEM careers. 

For more information on the Cybermentor Program please visit: https://cybermentor.ca

For more information on the Ted Rogers Scholarship Fund, please visit: www.TedRogersFund.com