A man with short dark hair wearing a jeans jacket and a woman with dark curly hair wearing a brown jacket walk down a busy street talking to each other.

While the work of the Murdock Trust is mainly focused on five states of the Pacific Northwest—Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana—we also partner with a small number of nonprofits in British Columbia. One of our grantees in the New Westminster area is Alpha Canada, which provides space for people of all backgrounds to engage in conversations about faith and life. These conversations happen over a meal in venues like gyms, coffee shops, prisons and homes, with the purpose of building relationships and deepening community.

The Alpha Film Series launched in 2016 with funding from a Trust grant. A new video series made for young adults, the episodes feature inspiring stories and interviews filmed all over the world to spur positive and encouraging conversations. The series is making an impact on young adults and transforming lives through community and faith.

A woman with straight brown hair wearing a gray knit beanie looks at the camera.

One such person is Nyki, who struggled with abandonment, rejection and anger. She always had a hard time trusting people, but she found a community she could trust when she attended the ten-week Alpha series.

“It was a community of people that were non-judgmental, welcoming and caring,” says Nyki. “We just felt very safe. So, living that way for ten weeks, with the same group of people, it just became very intimate, and I quickly realized that I really longed for community.”

Nyki now volunteers with Alpha and encourages others with her story of life change. In a time where people finds themselves more disconnected from each other and struggling without a supportive community, the Murdock Trust is proud to partner with groups like Alpha, who help bring people together with encouragement and hope.

The post Grants at Work: Alpha Canada: Changing Lives by Building Community appeared first on M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust.