# August 2025 newsletter Canonical URL: https://gabrieldalton.com/writing/newsletter/august-2025 Date sent: 2025-09-01T17:14:09.517Z Author: Gabriel Dalton Original Substack URL: https://gabrieldalton.substack.com/p/gabriel-daltons-august-newsletter [All newsletter issues](https://gabrieldalton.com/writing/newsletter) 01 Sep 2025 3-Min Read Earned a $120K/year Google Ads grant, received a certificate from Service Canada, was invited to speak on a TMU panel about digital wellness, and got encouragement from the Governor General of Canada ## Checking in from August 👋 It’s Gabriel, and I hope you’ve had a fantastic month! I packed August with biking, speaking invites, digital projects, and some exciting grant wins. Here’s what I’ve been up to this month: ## What I’ve Been Up To 📈 - **Going for an award:** Aiming for the **Impact in Innovation Award** from the City of Vancouver’s Excellence Awards. I got over 25 people to nominate me! [Learn more](https://vancouver.ca/your-government/awards-of-excellence.aspx?utm_source=chatgpt.com) ![City of Vancouver “Awards of Excellence” banner shows a wooden trophy held outside City Hall.](https://gabrieldalton.com/img/newsletter/august-2025/f16ec4b9e5d9274a.webp) **Biking a lot:** From Vancouver to Kerrisdale and back multiple times a week (~18 km round trip). I’m confident I’ve logged over **125 km** of riding this August alone. - **Writing on digital wellness:** Working on an article about the controversial and emerging issue of cell phones in schools, including how media education can teach students about digital wellness. Stay tuned — I’ll post it in an upcoming newsletter. - **Applying to advise:** Submitted a **[TransLink advisory committee application](https://buzzer.translink.ca/2025/08/apply-to-join-translinks-access-transit-and-handydart-users-advisory-committees-2/)**, focusing on accessibility improvements across the entire transit system. I applied just for fun, but it seemed worth a shot! - **Reporting impact:** Building an annual impact report for Oasis of Change’s 2025 activities — trees planted, in-kind tech grants, and electronics recycled. - **Volunteering with devs:** Supporting the **[Shuffle.dev](https://shuffle.dev/)** team (working directly with the CEO and CTO) by testing their platform for bugs and setting up their Discord server. - **Exploring nature:** Wandered through Squamish forestry near **[Alice Lake](https://maps.app.goo.gl/GZ2AC2p9MNqBXKSB7)** — quiet trails, towering trees, and much-needed fresh air. ![A person balances on a fallen log in the forest near Alice Lake.](https://gabrieldalton.com/img/newsletter/august-2025/af5f3a15e7bb1271.webp) ## Achievements & Highlights 🏆 - **Speaking at TMU 🎤** I’ve been invited to Toronto Metropolitan University to speak on an *intergenerational panel* at the **URL to IRL** event. I’ll be joining leaders and innovators to discuss responsible screen time use and digital wellness — excited to bring a youth perspective to the conversation. ![The Dais and Toronto Metropolitan University poster announces “URL to IRL”, an intergenerational dialogue about education policy, technology and youth futures.](https://gabrieldalton.com/img/newsletter/august-2025/457af47e10943e5f.webp) - **Recognized for accessibility 🏅** I’ve been named a **Youth Accessibility Leader 2024**, receiving a *Certificate of Recognition* from **[Service Canada](https://www.linkedin.com/company/service-canada)**. As part of this initiative, I partnered with the **[West End Seniors' Network](https://wesn.ca/)** and successfully secured a **$7K government grant** to improve their website accessibility and make their digital resources more inclusive for all. Check out my certificate below: ![Service Canada’s Certificate of Recognition 2024 thanks Gabriel Dalton for helping build a more accessible and inclusive Canada.](https://gabrieldalton.com/img/newsletter/august-2025/c2110f5bcd8bec3a.webp) - **Encouragement from the Governor General 📬** Remember how I [applied for](https://gabrieldalton.substack.com/p/gabriel-daltons-july-newsletter)**[viceregal patronage](https://gabrieldalton.substack.com/p/gabriel-daltons-july-newsletter)**[last month](https://gabrieldalton.substack.com/p/gabriel-daltons-july-newsletter)? I heard back from the **Governor General’s team**! While the official endorsement wasn’t possible this round, they cheered us on for the work **Oasis of Change** and **Web-Ready** are doing to plant trees and build sustainable websites. I’ll happily take that encouragement — onward we go! 🚀 - **Grant success for the Denman Place Mall 💰** I helped the **[Denman Place Mall](https://denmanmall.com)** secure a **$120K/year Google Ads grant**, expanding their digital reach through in-kind advertising and online visibility. - **10 million views on Unsplash ✨** My photography on **[Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/@photoswithgabe)**just crossed **10,000,000 views**! Grateful to everyone who’s downloaded, shared, or used one of my photos. ![Unsplash email celebrates Gabriel’s photography reaching “10,000,000 views & counting”.](https://gabrieldalton.com/img/newsletter/august-2025/07e22685c11a7abe.webp) ## Quotes 💬 > “***I swing big, with everything I've got. I hit big or I miss big. I like to live as big as I can.***” > > — Babe Ruth > “***If voting made any difference, they wouldn’t let us do it.***” > > —Often attributed to Mark Twain > “***Price is what you pay; value is what you get.***” > > — Warren Buffett **Curious about my past adventures?** Catch up on all my previous updates in the **[newsletter archive](https://gabrieldalton.substack.com/t/monthly-updates)**. You never know what gem you might find! ## Shoutouts 👏 - **[Ashna Ali](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashnaali/)**from **[the Dais](https://dais.ca/)** team for inviting me to speak at the **URL to IRL** event — hosted at **[Toronto Metropolitan University](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_Metropolitan_University)**. - **[Matthieu Pinauldt](https://www.linkedin.com/in/google-sheets-add-on-maker/),**founder of NoDataNoBusiness, for supporting youth entrepreneurs with an increase in credits on his platform ## What’s Next? 🚀 - **Heading to Toronto ✈️:** I’ve been invited to the TMU campus to speak on an *intergenerational panel* about responsible screen time use — excited to join the conversation. - **Looking ahead 🎓:** Got my schedule for **Grade 12**, and I’m starting to consider my university options seriously. ## Quick Ask 🙏 Know someone who’d enjoy following a young entrepreneur’s journey? Please forward this email and invite them to subscribe — every new reader helps me grow and keeps the adventure going. Best, **Gabriel Dalton** P.S. Want more behind-the-scenes? For more in-depth discussions, check out my **[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabrieldalton/)**or **[Medium](https://gabrieldalton.medium.com/)**profiles. [Read this issue on Substack](https://gabrieldalton.substack.com/p/gabriel-daltons-august-newsletter) [Subscribe on Substack](https://gabrieldalton.substack.com/subscribe)