By: Kat Cadungog
The Transformation Storytelling Fellowship program is supported by Canada Life.
It is with great joy that I join the Community Foundations of Canada community as a Transformation Storytelling Fellow. This opportunity feels like the perfect moment to pause, reflect, and reorient myself after a season of “push.”
Supporting Canada’s first-ever pooled philanthropic fund led-by and serving youth for climate action, the past few years have been a whirlwind of growth and navigating through turbulent waters. But now, I find myself arriving at a still lake—an opportunity to take in the view and reflect on how far we, as a sector, have come. Often, in the fast-paced rush of our careers and personal lives, ideas and stories are relegated to the edges. We lose touch with their deeper meanings and impacts. That’s why I’m so passionate about storytelling—there’s beauty in slowing down, allowing the time and space for stories to unfold and be understood.
Over the years, I’ve been fortunate to support a variety of youth-led climate projects across the country. I’ve witnessed firsthand the incredible passion, resilience, and innovation that young people bring to these efforts. Now, in my personal journey, I’m embracing this year as one of regeneration and reclamation—taking the time to reflect on the work that has come before me and considering how I can continue to contribute meaningfully to the future.
To slow down enables the sector and community to better understand each other and our systems, and in turn carefully design more community-informed and intentional solutions. Through this fellowship, I hope to embody an example of what Tricia Hersey describes in their book, Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto:
“You were not just born to center your entire existence on work and labor. You were born to heal, to grow, to be of service to yourself and your community, to practice, to experiment, to create, to have space, to dream, and to connect.”
Through this fellowship, I’m eager to dive deeper into the power of storytelling. I hope to explore new narratives that challenge the status quo and question the mental models that underpin the “business as usual” mindset. I’m particularly excited to connect with people, to understand the root of their work, and to uncover the stories that lie beneath the surface. These stories, I believe, have the power to inspire action, ignite passion, and build connections—and I can’t wait to contribute to this transformation through the fellowship.
I am grateful for the support from the community foundation network and to Canada Life as I work to bring these stories to life.
Want to connect? Email me at kcadungog@communityfoundations.ca
