Introducing to SVP Vancouver: The Cinderella Project

Discovery phase: Approved for Series A multi-year funding

About The Cinderella Project

The Cinderella Project is a federally registered, 100% volunteer-run charity founded in Vancouver in 1999. For more than 25 years, the organization has worked alongside schools and community partners to help ensure that high-risk Grade 12 students facing significant barriers are able to complete high school and transition to post-secondary education or training.

The Cinderella Project supports youth experiencing severe financial hardship, mental health challenges, unstable housing, systemic discrimination, caregiving responsibilities, and the unique demands of teen parenthood. By combining practical support with mentorship, dignity, and celebration, the organization helps young people see themselves as capable, valued, and worthy of success.

To date, the Cinderella Project has supported more than 5,000 youth, many of whom are the first in their families to graduate from high school.

Why Their Work Matters

For many vulnerable youth, the final year of high school is a tipping point. Financial stress, isolation, caregiving responsibilities, and unmet mental health needs can easily derail progress, sometimes just weeks before graduation.

Among students supported by the Cinderella Project, the high school dropout rate is approximately 5%, compared to a provincial average of 12.3%. This difference reflects the power of timely, relational support during a critical transition in a young person’s life.

The youth served by the Cinderella Project face intersecting challenges:

• All experience severe financial hardship
• More than half identify as autistic or with sensory disabilities
• Over one-third are Indigenous, First Nations, Métis, or Inuit
• More than 90% are young carers supporting family members
• Many experience food insecurity, housing instability, bullying, or mental health challenges

When students feel unseen or unsupported, the risk of disengagement rises. The Cinderella Project exists to prevent that disengagement and help youth stay connected to school, to caring adults, and to a future they can imagine for themselves.

What The Cinderella Project Does

The Cinderella Project supports vulnerable Grade 12 students referred by school counsellors, youth workers, social workers, and outreach staff. Rather than working directly with students, the organization equips these frontline professionals with meaningful moments and concrete tools to re-engage youth and sustain trusting relationships.

Once accepted, students receive a welcome package that frames participation as an achievement—not a charity—recognizing their perseverance and resilience. From there, the program provides personalized support throughout the school year, carefully timed around periods of heightened vulnerability.

Through a volunteer network of more than 700 community members, The Cinderella Project delivers practical assistance, mentorship, and celebration—while protecting student dignity, privacy, and agency at every step. Many graduates remain connected to the program after graduation, with some returning as volunteers themselves.

Key Activities 

• Year-round student support: Ongoing check-ins and support coordinated through school counsellors and youth workers, including goal-setting conversations, application support, and help navigating the transition beyond graduation.
• Comfort & Joy Boxes: Personalized care packages distributed during the holiday season, a time when isolation, food insecurity, and mental health risks are heightened.
• Boutique weekend: A graduation celebration where students select formal attire, receive personal care items, share meals, and are paired with a volunteer mentor in a safe, inclusive, and affirming environment.
  
• Scholarships and achievement awards: Financial awards supporting post-secondary education and training, with mentorship provided to students receiving full bursaries.
  
• On-demand support: Confidential, responsive assistance for emerging needs such as housing instability, access to mental health supports, or navigating complex systems

With SVP Vancouver’s support, The Cinderella Project plans to accomplish the following over the next three years: 

• Strengthen organizational sustainability and leadership by transitioning from a volunteer-led model to a staffed structure, including hiring a part-time Executive Director.
• Deepen and personalize student support, particularly for Indigenous and neurodiverse youth, while maintaining a high-quality, dignified student experience.
• Build stronger evaluation and storytelling systems to better demonstrate impact, inform learning, and support advocacy and fundraising.
• Expand access to post-secondary opportunities by growing scholarships, bursaries, and structured mentorship beyond graduation.
• Lay the groundwork for responsible scaling, including sharing The Cinderella Project model with other communities seeking to support vulnerable youth

How SVP Vancouver Will Help: 

SVP Vancouver’s partnership will focus on strengthening the Cinderella Project’s internal systems so the organization can continue and grow its impact. This includes:

• Board governance and leadership development, including Executive Director recruitment, onboarding, and succession planning
• Strategic and operational planning, aligning growth with mission and capacity
• Fund development, helping build a diversified and sustainable funding model
• Evaluation and infrastructure support, strengthening data systems, privacy practices, and impact measurement

This partnership will ensure that more young people are able to graduate with confidence, dignity, and a clear path forward, setting the foundation for improved outcomes not only for individual students, but for families and communities as well.

Have questions about The Cinderella Project, want to get more involved, or learn more about them? Reach out directly with any questions, please contact Helen.