Empowering Youth Through Storytelling, Mentorship & Movement: What We Learned This Giving Tuesday

At its heart, TELUS Local Content is about empowering communities to tell their stories from the inside out. December 2 was Giving Tuesday, and the TELUS team came together not just to celebrate generosity but to witness its impact firsthand. 

Hosted by Cameron Zinger, Director of the TELUS Local Content team, we hosted a virtual film screening of The Gateway, a Calgary-made film from the TELUS STORYHIVE Game Changer Documentary Edition. We also held a donation drive in support of the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation, all centred around the powerful theme of uplifting youth across Canada.

The TELUS Friendly Future Foundation is a Canadian registered charity that believes all youth, regardless of circumstance, deserve an equal opportunity to reach their full potential. It’s always meaningful to collaborate with organizations that make such a positive impact in the community. 

At the event, we were honoured to welcome Taina Nijimbere, Radio Community Organizer and TELUS Student Bursary recipient, and Nimmi Kanji, Executive Director of the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation, to dive deeper into the themes of the film through the lens of the impact of youth programming that both these individuals witness and create through their work. 

Nimmi and her team work tirelessly to empower youth across Canada, focusing on two key streams of work: awarding TELUS Student Bursaries to deserving students who are actively giving back to their communities, and providing strategic grants to youth-serving organizations nationwide, in partnership with TELUS Community Boards. These efforts help to ensure that all young people have the opportunity to reach their full potential.

“At the heart of the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation is the importance of uplifting youth,” Nimmi shared. “I love this film because The Gateway gives us such a powerful example of the impact and the value of youth mentorship, and the importance of creating a sense of belonging and opening doors for youth to a brighter future.”

Taina Nijimbere is a 23-year-old college student at Concordia University in Montreal, a passionate musician and a radio host. She runs her own weekly show, Whatever She Wants, where she explores music, mental health and relatable topics for students. 

Driven by her love for radio and community, Taina also co-founded Teens Radio, a program designed to give underserved high school students access to radio and communications training, helping them share their stories and find their creative voices.

There were so many powerful takeaways from the film and the post-screening conversation with Taina and Nimmi. Here are just a few of the highlights!

The Gateway, a Film about Movement, Healing and Mentorship

The Gateway follows Calgary-based dancer and hip hop artist Tara Wilson, founder of Pulse Studios and creator of The Gateway Project, a two-year, pre-professional dance program designed for youth who may not have access to formal training.

The film spotlights the life-changing power of youth mentorship and community programs as told through the story of a grassroots dance training program in Calgary.

From tender rehearsal room moments to raw conversations on race, self-worth, heritage and resilience, The Gateway shows that mentorship isn’t just about artistic growth. It’s about giving young people a way to reclaim their own narratives.

1. Dance as a pathway to self-discovery and healing

For Tara’s students, dance isn’t just about movement—it’s a space to process identity, grief and belonging, while building confidence and resilience. 

"When I'm dancing, I'm connected to something that's really, really deep,” says Tara, “All the other noise like, ‘you don’t belong’ or, ‘you shouldn’t be here’ or, ‘this is a bad idea’…never took over. It just ended up keeping me on track.” 

Through movement, participants are able to confront trauma, explore vulnerability and begin healing, demonstrating the power of art as both therapy and self-expression.

2. Access and mentorship open doors for youth

For many young people, access to creative spaces isn’t guaranteed. Tara shares that she founded The Gateway Project to give young dancers a chance to train, perform and tell their stories through hip hop.

The film follows the students as they navigate the challenges of adolescence alongside the rigour of dance training. One student recalls, “Growing up, we had a lot of financial trouble. Dance gave me something to do, especially when things were tough at home.” Through mentorship and rehearsal, the dancers confront insecurities, process past trauma and discover the power of creative expression.

Tara explains, “It’s not just putting a bunch of steps together. You have a story that’s so close to you and so vulnerable. Then you find a way to bring it out of yourself to share it.” 

3. Opportunities create ripple effects of growth

Programs like The Gateway project illustrate how a single chance can open multiple pathways for young people.

"I hope that through going through this program, they understand that someone gave you an opportunity that taught you that all of life is a gateway, and it's just a matter for you to step through the door."

Through choreography, spoken word and performance, students in Tara’s program learn to process, heal and create something bigger than themselves. 

"All of life is a gateway, and it's just a matter for you to step through the door."

Why Stories Like The Gateway Matter

Taina’s post-screening reflections of the film offer a powerful, real-world example of the impact that supportive arts programming can have on young people navigating barriers similar to those faced by the dancers in the film. 

“It’s kind of similar for me with radio and music, where I feel like there are these teens who are undervalued or don’t have access to radio programming at their high schools,” Taina says, “In Tara’s story, a lot of them start with dancing, but the dancing represents something so much larger where they can express the burdens and all the things they’ve gone through in their trauma through the art of dance.”

Taina also shares that she grew up passionate about music but faced significant financial barriers that made it difficult to pursue the arts. 

“The TELUS Student Bursary has done so much for me in terms of alleviating that financial burden,” says Taina, “With this bursary, I can keep things afloat, but I can also now delegate more time to helping people in my community, which is so important. It’s made me such a fulfilled person, and I want to bring people younger than me who have a similar financial background the same level of fulfillment in the arts.”

Thank you to Nimmi and Taina for this engaging conversation!

Learn more about Tara Wilson and Pulse Studios. Watch The Gateway now on TELUS Optik TV Video on Demand channel 9, Stream+ and STORYHIVE’s YouTube channel.