September 29, 2010

Our Vital Youth grant program supports groups in the city of Toronto that are working to increase access to high-quality recreational activities for youth aged 12-18 years. The Toronto Community Foundation is pleased to announce the winners of our 2009/2010 Vital People grants, funded through the Vital Toronto Fund.

Please join us in congratulating the 2009/2010 Vital Youth:

Arts for Children and Youth, Pixilated Community Portraits
The Pixilated Community Portraits engages youth in their pursuit to create inspiring places in which to live and belong to. The project gives youth chances to re-imagine and reposition themselves in their communities as leaders, and to have them recognize, through their own efforts, the impact of their ideas, and abilities. The program offers students at three middle schools free, hands-on workshops once a week for 27 weeks using digital cameras, computers (in school labs), and portable digital photo booths to collect pixalated or digital imagery of their local community. Using these images along with other art media, youth will generate a large-scale digitalized mixed media 'portrait' of their respective communities. Youth will be encouraged to “think outside the box” in their relation with the term “portrait”, and their approach to the configuration of their final artworks. To support the needs of the youth, AFCY will hire two arts educators (professional photographers and developing youth artists involved in our mentorship program) to conduct each workshop. This better positions youth for success and exposes them to mentorship, and the implementation of creative activities that respond to youth culture. The aim here is to add to the existing cultural energies.

Arts Starts Neighbourhood Cultural Centre , One World: Glendower
In 2007, six youth mentored by Art Starts, conceptualized, researched, designed and got funding for a program they named One World, a music production, education and recording program for youth in the Steeles L'Amoreaux area. The founders, all between the ages of 17 and 23, have developed a music program that build healthy relationships and have a direct impact on the lives of youth living in Glendower, Steeles L’Amoreaux and Toronto. One World will provide youth with the opportunity to work with high profile artists and to experiment with writing, performing, recording and producing original music. The 13 – 16 year olds will have more of a drop-in model and will focus on getting an original song & lyrics written, working as a team, exploring self identity through their music, being mentored, learning the instruments and beat-making techniques. The 17 – 23 year olds will have a more professional, formalized and structured approach. They will also mentor the younger group, incorporate marketing and business workshops and have a big final project to work towards such as a polished performance. Being entirely youth-directed, One World appeals to youth in ways that mainstream programs and organizations can’t. Youth appreciate quality and their sound recording studio reflects the respect the program has for its youth.

Boundless Adventures, Recreation Leadership by Inner City Youth
Boundless gives a chance for Toronto's at-risk youth to attain a high school diploma by providing recreation programs, high school credits, leadership development and community engagement. Most of the youth, by the time they arrive at Boundless, will have been either expelled from school, have dropped out of school or have been underachieving/failing courses, leaving them far behind their peers in their efforts to graduate. Their method is outdoor adventure and leadership development delivered at their camp in the Ottawa Valley. Boundless then turn their attention to having the youth launch and execute community based recreation and leadership initiatives in their own inner-city neighbourhoods in Toronto. They intend to add a new dimension to this pilot project, now three years old, in 2010. Two new partners figure prominently in this innovation: the Toronto Police (Community Mobilization Unit) and Youth Justice (Probation Officers supervising youth in the criminal justice system). Boundless aims to engage 100 alienated youth over the year, with a history of violence, to launch recreation programs in their high risk neighbourhoods. The youth will be supported to help them return to school and obtain their high school diplomas. Each youth will participate in two 5-day training programs at our base camp in the Ottawa Valley in the autumn and again in the winter. They’ll define goals for themselves as a group and bond as a team. They’ll create a work plan for their subsequent community projects delivered over the year in their neighbourhoods. Each student will earn at least one high school credit, and in many cases (depending on the scope of their community projects that they define) two credits.

De-Railed Theatre Collective
According to the organization, official Canadian history as taught in schools tends to be a succession of victim / victimizer dichotomies that at best bore and at worst marginalize students. Yet learning history is vital for civic engagement, building community and is particularly crucial in marginalized communities. De-Railed thinks it is vital to not only educate students in Canadian history, but to give them the opportunity to find themselves within that history. De-Railed Theatre Collective works with youth in Toronto’s priority neighbourhoods, offering afterschool theatre programming to empower youth to link their individual stories with Canadian history. Building on their pilot project in two Middle Schools as part of the Beyond 3:30 program (a Toronto Community Foundation initiative), they will begin offering weekly afterschool workshops for 40 youth over the fall semester, working towards a spring-time performance. The performance will showcase the students’ collective explorations in their community and at a professional Toronto theatre, involving 20 youth in the performance and 20 youth assisting in production. De-Railed’s work is based on the collective theatre model, where participants have the opportunity to be leaders in every aspect of the creative process, including choosing the play’s subject, writing the script, designing and constructing the set and costumes, marketing the play, and facilitating post-show discussion. De-Railed suggests that using drama to tell personal stories and question formal histories may help the students in alleviating the emotional impact of these stressors and developing important alternative coping skills in addition to developing their creative faculties.

Drum Arts Canada , Samba Youth Westview
Samba schools (large drumming groups) were born out of some of the poorest areas in Brazil. The Samba Kidz Performing Troupe performs at events throughout Toronto and is made up of children and youth who have progressed to performance-level ability. Samba Youth is a new program offered to at-risk youth in the Jane-Finch community and it combines arts activities, leadership training and academic and vocational coaching. Junior Staff Leaders in Training (LIT) workshops are offered in which youth aged 13-18 years practice critical thinking, conflict resolution, communication and consensus-building decision-making. LIT graduates assume leadership and employment positions and become mentors for the group’s younger members. Apart from taking part in an enjoyable activity, the early work experiences of the junior staff will allow them to gradually take on more responsibility, to learn about mentoring children through direct practice and to increase their self-esteem because they are looked up to by younger participants. All participants will be engaged in song writing, composing and learning advanced techniques in samba drumming and steel pan. Performing to a crowd, in areas of the city and in special events that help define our neighbourhoods, offers the youth a rare opportunity to get to know and be part of our city in intimate ways.

Education Through Media, The Dolobox Television Initiative
Education Through Media was founded in 2005 by young people that fell under the category of ‘at-risk’ who could not find the types of supports they needed in the organizations they encountered. The traditional supports they were offered, such as resume writing and job search techniques, did not fit their needs. They wanted develop careers or become entrepreneurs, but lacked the education needed and finances to receive independent training. However, they found that some non-traditional youth serving agencies offering alternatives offered short, limited learning opportunities with limited transferable skills in the media arts and marketing fields. They created Education Through Media to help them and other youth to reach their goals. Their aim was to support other youth who have lost direction and motivation, to find a voice by developing positive messages through media and communications. Their Dolobox Television Initiative (DTI) is a six-month mentor-based program through which a group of 25 at-risk youth, aged 12 to 25, who have an affinity to the media arts, will conceive, plan and develop media projects and a dramatic television series that expose real life issues facing at-risk youth in Toronto. It gives youth participants a chance to be in front of the camera through acting and interviewing, or behind the scenes by producing, directing, filming and editing. Projects are designed to promote a positive lifestyle and social environment while presenting alternatives to violence, drugs, crime and other negative lifestyles.

Evergreen, Healthy Choices
We are facing a crisis of food literacy among youth in Canada: an increasing number of young people are not connected to where their food comes from, are ill-equipped to make healthy food choices, and have few opportunities to learn the skills required to cook a healthy fresh meal. These problems are worse in low income neighbourhoods, where the need for thrift and speed of preparation combines with a lack of access to fresh, healthy food. Evergreen’s Healthy Choices is a new weekly after-school food-based programming that will educate young people aged 13-17 years about the origins of food, plant life cycles and food preparation through gardening, kitchen and eating experiences. Cooking classes with volunteer chefs will build skills and confidence, and allow youth to bring a healthy meal home to their families. Youth will visit both farms and supermarkets, while expanding their knowledge of healthy, affordable, sustainable food options. Youth will also take part in guided nature and urban exploration walks, participation in trail audits, access to community bicycle fleets, and a skating rink in the winter time. They will learn that walking, biking, and skating are not only healthy, but fun. A Bike Educator will train young neighbours to be savvy self-transporters, who have the opportunity to earn a bike by building it themselves. As they ride home along the ever-improving trail network linking the Brick Works with their neighbourhood, youth will carry with them new skills of bike maintenance & repair, and the value of active transportation. The Healthy Choices program will engage 12 youth in each of 3 annual sessions. Using Evergreen Brick Works as a community hub for food literacy, active transportation, recreational and educational opportunities, the Healthy Choices program will engage youth from the underserved communities surrounding the Don Valley site.

Jumblies Theatre , Community Arts Guild Troupe
Through participatory arts Jumblies sets up residencies in neighbourhoods for 3 or 4 years, particularly reaching out to people and groups who are most likely to be left out. Jumblies was invited to the Kinston-Galloway/Orton Park area by the City of Toronto’s Cultural Services due to their successes in other Toronto high-risk neighbourhoods. Over the past two years of the three-year residency, they have been working with Aboriginal youth linked with a Native social service agency and with homeless teens living in the City-run Family Residence. The homeless teens also live in two motels on the motel strip on Kingston Road that have been converted to shelters to accommodate more homeless families when the city-run shelter is full. There are typically 50 to 60 teenagers staying at the shelter. As participants in a community-engaged arts production, diverse youth from Scarborough and across Toronto will form new relationships and develop skills as they take on core creative roles in mounting and performing a large-scale theatrical production, and serve as emissaries for the project within their respective communities, as it is frequently through the children and youth that we win over adults and families to the enjoyment and benefits of our work.

San Romanoway Revitalization, Strong Women
Women and girls of the San Romanoway and wider Jane/Finch community face significant barriers to age appropriate recreational programming. Additionally, young women living in the Jane Finch neighbourhood face elevated rates of victimization and violence. Strong Women addresses an important service gap in the community. While the organization offers after school programming for girls aged 12 - 18, it lacks a dedicated girls fitness component. Strong Women aims to combat these inequities by proactively engaging girls in the community. By combining recreation, education, community involvement, and youth mentorship, Strong Women seeks to introduce 15 female youth community to fun and accessible recreational opportunities in an outdoor setting. The young women who go through the three-month leadership training earn experience designing recreational programming, and leading the younger participants. Upon completion of the project, this group of youth will have a solid understanding of the importance of fitness and recreation, a better knowledge of proper fitness techniques and nutrition, improved physical fitness, peer mentoring skill, experience planning recreational activities, and increased self confidence. The program combines structured training and youth-directed activities that provides the girls with the best of both worlds: maximizes the learning of new skills, and strengthens their sense of ownership and engagement in the program. It also provides girls-only programming, currently lacking in the city.

Toronto Lords Community Association, Toronto Lords Basketball
The Toronto Lords Basketball Association uses the Canada Basketball Long Term Athlete Development Model, focusing on improving health and wellness of young women aged 10 – 18 who live primarily in low income, at-risk neighbourhoods in Toronto. Their program consists of two main focuses: athletics and education. Athletics: they run a basketball program for youth ages 10-14, and a beginner house league and camp system throughout the year for ages 12-18. For the athletes who wish to join the higher level rep travel team, they currently run 4 teams for girls ages 10-18. Education: they run a free Saturday tutoring program, which all participants in the basketball program who achieve under a B average in school must attend. Emphasis is placed not only on success on the basketball court, but also in the classroom. Further emphasis is placed on education through a scholarship program. 100% of graduates from the program go on to post-secondary education. While similar basketball programs charge a player well over $500 a year, each girl in the Toronto Lords program pays only $20 a year. To offset the cost of gym space and tournaments, the girls are also required to fundraise an additional $150 through events held throughout the year such as basketball marathons, shootouts and raffle ticket sales. Toronto Lords basketball program is offered on a yearly basis starting in September and continues through the summer months. Most of the girls attend at least one practice during the week and on the weekend; however some of the older age-groups practice multiple evenings. This provides an opportunity for participants to stay out off the streets, increase their activity and wellness, and build a variety of skills. The average time a player stays in the program is about 5 years. In the past 3 years, there has been a steady increase in player interest and participation which has lead to the formation of 2 new teams and a co-ed recreational league with about 75 participants. Toronto Lords hopes to expand the co-ed houseleague by approximately 50 players, increase the size of the rep program by two more teams in 2011 and offer the program to at least 24 more girls annually.

Youth Assisting Youth, Girls Only (GO)
Youth Assisting Youth’s (YAY) new Girls Only (G.O.) program is designed as a mosaic to connect the many life threatening issues facing young women today. Issues such as bullying, violence, gang involvement, inappropriate sexual relationships, substance use and abuse, can all be translated to a cry for help. The G.O. Program will provide participants the opportunity to address these issues, as well as a foundation that encourages critical thinking around gender roles and stereotypes. G.O. will provide structured activities and workshops designed for 42 girls age 12 - 15. The development of this program is a result of feedback from their youth volunteer mentors, their mentees and staff. YAY will offer six workshops that each last 6 weeks to 42 girls aged 12-15 years. Workshops will include cooking /nutrition, leadership, martial arts and self-defence, boxing and visual arts. The G.O. program will provide female youth with greater knowledge, skills and confidence. Upon completion of the program, participants will understand how to eat healthy and stay in shape. They will understand what it means to be a leader and have the tools necessary to take charge of their personal development. They will have found their voice, feeling stronger and better equipped to protect themselves. This will ultimately lead to a strong sense of empowerment. YAY will also benefit and have the ability to replicate “lessons learned” and “best practices” throughout the City of Toronto.

YouthLink, Inspiration Through Design
Youth growing up in poverty, particularly when it is concentrated in defined geographic areas, and where services and facilities are lacking in those areas for youth, are at higher risk for becoming involved in violent activities. 'Inspiration through Design' will provide instruction in various forms of graphic arts including comics and animé, graphic novels, Photoshop and design. The program will run two days a week engaging two groups of 12 youth (each once a week) for 32 weeks for a total of 24 youth. The program will take place at the North West Scarborough Youth Centre (NWSYC) which is centrally located and is very accessible to youth living in Steeles-L'Amoreaux. Inspiration through Design project aims to build the youth’s communication skills, both written and verbal, while creating comics, graphic novels and flyers and working collaboratively with their peers and the instructors. Youth will also have the opportunity to reflect on their own identity, values and beliefs as they select and develop their projects.

More Information
Learn more about our Vital Youth grant stream ››