The Virtual Award Centre

Guided Support

We merge youth development expertise with practicality and fun. As part of joining the VAC, you gain access to a structured program, that we have learned is a critical tool for success. The VAC guided-support model utilises a proven framework that integrates tools, support, and examples to enable you to maximise the benefit of doing the Award and celebrating your successes.

New for 2024: Updated Delivery Model

Learning from 18 months of operation and feedback, we have fully revised our support model to use a comprehensive, guided, support approach that maximises your opportunity to complete the Award in a timely manner while maintaining the flexibility and participant-led choices to ensure your VAC experience is both enjoyable and rewarding.

New Resources

A newly designed participant Playbook and VAC Homepage (web-based portal) that gives you digital access to everything you need to help you on your journey. Participants in the VAC will receive their own Playbook to guide them along their Award journey, typically a short time before their cohort begins. This is the all-in-one guide to complete your Bronze Award from start to finish. It includes all the essential information, detailed instructions, helpful tips, and a schedule to assist you!

Virtual Adventurous Journeys

The Bronze level VAC includes the Virtual Bronze Experience (VBE) Adventurous Journey (AJ) as a standard. Learning from our experience of running the VAC, this is seen as a significant benefit that we can offer to everyone who joins the VAC. The VBE will help navigate what is for some, the most difficult component to organise, especially for individual participants or those in areas where traditional AJs are more inaccessible. Opportunities are being explored for a Silver Virtual Experience.

Cohort and Buddy System

Through the cohort and buddy system, you’ll have the opportunity to connect with like-minded peers who are also navigating their Award journey. You’ll benefit from enhanced accountability and support. Your buddy, who is also participating in the Award journey, serves as a reliable companion, offering guidance, motivation, and accountability to help you stay on track and overcome challenges. 

Accessibility

Joining the Virtual Award Centre opens doors for many opportunities, allowing you to embark on your Award journey from any location across Canada. Whether you reside in a remote area without access to a physical Award Centre or simply prefer the flexibility of virtual participation, the VAC ensures inclusivity and accessibility for all.

Achieve Meaningful Growth

Participating in the Virtual Award Centre offers the same transformative experience and opportunities for personal growth as traditional in-person participation. Through engaging activities, skill development, and community service initiatives, you’ll cultivate essential life skills, boost your confidence, and make a positive impact.

Preparing for Real-Life Journeys

At the Bronze level in the VAC, there is a built-in Virtual Adventurous Journey that provides components that simulate real-life journeys, equipping you and your team with valuable knowledge and experience that can be applied to future adventures. Whether it’s navigating through digital landscapes, planning virtual journeys, or developing outdoor survival skills through online resources, the VAC prepares you and your team for real-world challenges and enhances your readiness for future journeys, both in virtual and physical settings. At the Silver and Gold level, participants will plan, do and review their own Adventurous Journey. Rest assured, the Virtual Award Centre experience is designed to maximize your potential and ensure that your journey towards achieving the Award remains fulfilling and impactful.

Standout Application Material

Including participation in the Award on post-secondary applications, scholarship applications, CVs, and job applications significantly enhances your profile. It serves as compelling evidence of your proactive engagement, skills, achievements, and readiness to excel in academic and professional settings.

Learn more about how you can leverage your Award for interviews, resumes, and more in your Life after the Award page!

Developing holistic skills

The Award focuses on the development of the whole person, encompassing physical fitness, skill development, community service and adventurous journeys. These activities encourage critical thinking, problem-solving, teamwork, leadership, time management and communication skills. This holistic approach nurtures well-rounded individuals who are resilient, adaptable, self-confident and better equipped to navigate the complexities of the world.

Encouraging the exploration of interests and passions

The Award framework allows participants to explore their passions, interests and talents through various activities beyond the curriculum. Whether it’s sports, arts, technology, or social causes, participants have the freedom to choose activities that align with their interests, discover hidden talents and find a sense of purpose and identity. This exploration helps them develop intrinsic motivation that fosters personal growth and self-discovery.

Enhancing mental health and well-being

The Award framework encourages participants to engage in physical activities, develop hobbies and focus on personal growth. Engaging in recreational activities and pursuits can reduce anxiety, depression and burnout, fostering mental resilience and emotional stability. Furthermore, the social connections formed through experiential learning activities create a sense of belonging and support, reducing feelings of isolation and promoting overall well-being. 

Enhancing mental health and well-being

The Award offers numerous opportunities for students to develop leadership skills and work collaboratively with their peers. Whether it’s leading a project or working together as a team while planning and executing a journey, students learn to communicate effectively, make decisions and develop interpersonal skills. By taking on responsibilities outside of academics, students learn to manage their time effectively, set goals, delegate tasks, motivate their peers and lead by example. These experiences cultivate essential leadership qualities that are transferable to various academic, life and professional contexts.

Improving academic performance

Participation in Award activities is typically done outside the normal classroom, and fosters learning by engaging and doing. Motivation to continue the experiential learning pathway is provided through external recognition of achievement. These activities help students to develop problem-solving, reasoning, critical and creative thinking, communication, resilience and collaborative abilities.  The Award also encourages involvement in school and community events, engagement with peers and mentors, and helps to develop a sense of being involved in one’s own education. These skills are directly transferable to the academic arena, and it is shown that students who get involved in other areas of student and community life are more likely to have a positive outlook on school and future study.

Broadening the horizons of young people

The Award provides a unique opportunity for young people to step out of their comfort zones, develop progressive habits and engage in new experiences. Participants are encouraged to challenge themselves physically, mentally, emotionally and interpersonally, which exposes them to diverse cultures, perspectives and environments. This exposure broadens their horizons and fosters empathy, leading to a more enriched and well-rounded understanding of the world.

Supporting personal independence, post-secondary and entry into the workforce

The Award fosters commitment, passion, leadership, initiative and teamwork which are highly regarded by post-secondary institutions and employers around the world. Completion of the Award demonstrates a strong ability for individuals to shape their own future by continuously setting and achieving personally challenging goals. The Award helps young people stand out, by providing them with an internationally recognized accreditation and by becoming world ready.

The new VAC guided-support model is a full-service offering. Professional dedicated VAC staff provide access to online and directed training, workshops, dedicated group coaching, networked peer support, templates, and programmatic support. Specifically: 

• Digital welcome pack and onboarding guide accessing the ORB and getting started.
• ORB access and registration: includes an App for your phone.
• VAC Participant Playbook that guides the participant in the steps and decision-making process to complete the Award.
• VAC Adventurous Journey – Virtual Bronze Experience (VBE) for Bronze participants.Note: A Virtual Silver Experience is in development but not currently available or included in the VAC guided-support model. Note: There is no plan for a standard Gold Virtual AJ – this level is designed to appropriately stretch participants to discover and reach their full potential. 
• Dedicated VAC Award Leaders with access to calendar booking for dedicated support.
• Dedicated Remote Support Centre to provide answers to your questions and help you navigate challenges when you’re not able to address the problem directly. 

Additional ongoing support

• For participants who require additional support beyond cohort support timeline, we are happy to offer additional ongoing support for $50.00/month, payable at the time of request.
• It is not anticipated additional ongoing support for participants who actively work on their Award.