At Alexander Holburn, we recognize that commercial performance is just one facet of our success. Equally important is creating a lasting, positive impact in our community.
As an integral part of Vancouver and Toronto’s commercial fabric, we embrace the opportunity and responsibility to give back through our philanthropic initiatives program, which aligns with the firm’s core values of balance, teamwork, and trust. We are proud to provide an opportunity for our firm to contribute and for our lawyers and staff to volunteer and make a difference in our community.
GIVING BACK TO OUR COMMUNITY
We’re committed to building meaningful, long-term partnerships with organizations that help children and youth from underserved communities access the programs, education, and support they need for a healthy and successful future. Our Philanthropic Committee focuses on three core pillars of impact: youth, education, and underserved communities. We believe that sustainable change comes from deep, collaborative relationships rather than one-time contributions, which is why we partner with charitable organizations for multiple years to create significant and lasting impact.
Our approach to philanthropy is rooted in authentic engagement. Our staff and lawyers are passionate about getting involved at a grassroots level, volunteering their time and expertise alongside our financial support. We view our charitable partners as true collaborators, working together in diverse ways to make a meaningful difference in the lives of young people. From volunteering at school events to participating in fundraising initiatives and providing mentorship, our team is committed to hands-on involvement that goes beyond a cash donation. We are currently partnered with three exceptional charitable organizations that embody our values and pillars of impact: Girls Who Leap, Track 3, and PowerPlay Young Entrepreneurs.
ABOUT OUR PHILANTHROPIC PARTNERS
Girls Who Leap
Girls Who LEAP (Lead to Empower & Act with Purpose) is a registered, volunteer-run charitable organization that provides leadership development, mentorship opportunities, and wrap-around supports for female-identifying and non-binary youth in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside and Grandview-Woodlands communities. Through its programs, Girls Who LEAP empowers young people with the confidence, life skills, and resources they need to navigate future opportunities and challenges. The organization is dedicated to building leadership capacity, fostering lifelong engagement in community and mentorship, and encouraging youth to become active changemakers in their own lives and the lives of those around them. By nurturing youth ambassadors and providing opportunities to explore the impact of purposeful leadership, Girls Who LEAP inspires participants to create positive change within their communities locally, nationally, and globally.
We have proudly partnered with Girls Who Leap for the past six years, supporting programs that build confidence, resilience, and essential life skills for inner-city youth. Our partnership extends beyond financial support, with firm members actively participating in Girls Who Leap initiatives, including events held on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Through these experiences, we have had the privilege of learning from Indigenous Elders, hearing firsthand accounts of residential schools, the Sixties Scoop, and the intergenerational impacts that continue to affect many Indigenous families today. We have participated in healing circles, educational programming, and cultural activities that promote understanding, reflection, and reconciliation. AHBL is also proud to support Girls Who Leap’s annual holiday initiatives through our firm-wide toy drive, helping ensure children and families in the communities Girls Who Leap serves receive gifts and support during the holiday season. Girls Who Leap’s mission aligns closely with AHBL’s commitment to youth, education, underserved communities, and reconciliation, and we are honoured to support the meaningful and lasting impact they continue to make.
Track 3
The Ontario Track3 Adaptive Sports Association is a registered Canadian charity that has been helping children and youth with physical and cognitive disabilities discover confidence, independence, inclusion, and freedom through adaptive sport for more than fifty years. Serving athletes and families from Toronto and surrounding areas, Track3 creates opportunities for young people to participate in activities that might otherwise be inaccessible, including adaptive alpine and nordic skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, hiking, and other outdoor programming. Each winter, Track3 runs structured weekly programs at ski hills across Ontario, pairing athletes with trained and certified volunteer instructors and providing access to specialized adaptive equipment at no additional cost to families. Through its sliding-scale subsidy model, Track3 also helps reduce financial barriers for families, ensuring that more children can experience the physical, emotional, and social benefits of organized activity.
What makes Track3 especially meaningful is the community it creates. For many athletes and families, the program offers much more than instruction on the hill. It provides a camp-like environment where children can return week after week, build relationships with volunteers and other participants, develop confidence, and experience a sense of belonging in a setting designed around ability, inclusion, and encouragement. Families, volunteers, and athletes from Toronto and the surrounding area become part of a supportive community that understands their experiences and celebrates each child’s progress. Track3’s impact also extends well beyond the winter season. Through its Adventure for Every Ability initiative, Track3 offers adaptive hiking programs, including programs at Earl Bales Park in North York and Glen Eden in Milton, with additional hiking opportunities expanding in other Ontario communities. Track3 also offers camp days and other outdoor experiences throughout the year, helping children and youth stay active, connected, and supported.
We are proud to support Ontario Track3 as our Toronto charitable partner. This partnership aligns closely with our philanthropic pillars of youth, education, and underserved communities by helping young people with disabilities access inclusive, confidence-building programs that support personal growth, independence, and community connection. Our support will help Track3 continue delivering its winter programs while also expanding year-round opportunities, including hiking, camp days, and other adaptive outdoor activities. We are also excited about the volunteer engagement opportunities this partnership creates for our Toronto team, whether through fundraising, event support, or hands-on involvement with a charity whose impact extends to athletes, families, volunteers, and the broader community.
PowerPlay Young Entrepreneurs
PowerPlay Young Entrepreneurs is a Canadian charity dedicated to inspiring and empowering youth to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. Their mission is to create more adaptable, innovative, and resilient lifelong learners through programming that integrates seamlessly into school curricula and extracurricular events that build community. PowerPlay takes a highly personalized approach to ensure all students can thrive regardless of their learning styles, socioeconomic status, or background, with a steadfast commitment to working with underrepresented, neurodiverse, BIPOC, and lower socioeconomic communities. Whether students aspire to become entrepreneurs or simply want to chase their dreams and develop new skills, PowerPlay provides authentic learning opportunities in real-world contexts while encouraging youth to give back to their local communities.
We are proud to support PowerPlay Young Entrepreneurs through both financial contributions and hands-on volunteer engagement. This partnership aligns perfectly with our three pillars of philanthropic impact: youth, education, and underserved communities. Our team members volunteer at Innovation Day events at partner schools, working directly with students to help them conceptualize business ideas, build confidence, and prepare presentations. Through our annual holiday giving campaign, silent auction fundraising, and ongoing donations, we’re helping PowerPlay expand their reach and create meaningful opportunities for young people to discover their entrepreneurial spirit and potential. We’re honoured to play a role in empowering the next generation of innovative thinkers and community leaders.
OUR IMPACT IN ACTION
Our commitment to hands-on philanthropy means you’ll find our team members volunteering at Innovation Days at local elementary schools, mentoring young entrepreneurs as they develop and pitch their business ideas. You’ll see our lawyers judging student presentations and running moot courts, our staff participating in fundraising events, and our entire firm rallying together during our annual holiday giving campaign to provide gifts for children and youth in our partner programs. These aren’t one-off activities; they’re ongoing commitments that have become part of who we are as a firm.
The impact goes both ways. While we’re helping young people build confidence, develop new skills, and access opportunities they might not otherwise have, our team gains fresh perspective, deeper community connections, and the profound satisfaction of contributing to something larger than ourselves. Our partners tell us that our consistent, multi-year support allows them to plan with confidence and expand their reach. That’s exactly the kind of sustainable impact we set out to create.
APPLYING FOR PARTNERSHIP
Organizations or charities seeking support are invited to complete our Sponsorship Application form. We’re looking for partners whose programs align with our three pillars of impact and who are interested in building collaborative, multi-year relationships with our firm. The Committee reviews applications biannually in July/August and again in November/December.