Posts Tagged ‘Toronto’

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I WONDER by Darren Clarke

Thursday, February 16th, 2012

Toronto’s Tower Renewal program aims to drive broad environmental, social, economic, and cultural change by improving Toronto’s concrete apartment towers and the neighbourhoods that surround them. The Toronto region contains North America’s second highest concentration of apartment buildings, but only in Toronto will you find them integrated in both urban and suburban neighbourhoods.

2667 Kipling Ave. is a building located in Rexdale, a North Etobicoke community. It is also a part of the Tower Renewal project and the focus of an innovative NFB project, HIGHRISE. This Emmy-winning multi-media documentary experiment explores vertical living in global suburbs.  Kipling’s 2667 poet-in-residence Darren Clarke shared his thoughts on his community in a poem titled I Wonder. We are so proud to know Darren and are excited to share his work with you below.

I WONDER

I Wonder
If you tried to live my life
If you tried to walk in my shoes
If you’d actually get a clue
The life we live along the Kipling Avenue
The things that we go through, the people I know who
Couldn’t grow up – that’s what the ghetto mentality produce
See life’s alwaysbeen tough, I’ve seen friends stabbed, grabbed and even scuffed
While having their innocence corrupt
Like the broken-down elevators
That skip floors and get stuck
I’ve seen people so high on ignorance, they created religions
Now these weren’t your typical idols or gods
These were masters of the self-destructive arts
Taught their followers how to hate one another
I’ve seen people want to kill their blood brothers

It makes me wonder
Why was I put into this situation
If I was a variable in a bigger equation
I wonder
If the media is right
If I am one of the many Rexdale birds who can’t take flight
Escaping this cage called the hood
In order to see what lies on the other side
I wonder
If this was meant to be
OR if this thing called destiny was meant for me
To see all the wrongs
In order to do right

Like the girl I saw killed jay walking
So they put in a cross light
Or the young minds of 2667
That are ripe with the nectar of knowledge
Most of them around the age of 11
Bright with dreams of college

I wonder
What lies ahead this summer
When the thugs wake up from their winter slumber
And more people drop like flies
One after another

I’ve wondered all this time
But there’s a few things I’m sure of
That everything that was just said is typical
about the ghetto lifestyle redundant and minimal
But it’s not black and white
There’s shades of grey
This is where I fit in my part to play
I’m sure that one day
At the price we pay for living
The elevators WILL be brand new in my building
Escalating those without means
Like the lady in the wheel chair
This trouble I’ve seen
Stuck in the lobby on a cold winter night
Trapped waiting for an elevator
One…two…three…but no flight

I know my place is to give positivity back to a negative community
To give kids knowledge so they have immunity
From all the naysayers and wrong doers
So they don’t become another statistic or bong user
These few examples outweigh the apathy
I’m sure … I’m SURE
Our dreams can become reality

- Darren Clarke

Resident of 2667 Kipling Avenue
Gr. 12 / North Albion Collegiate

More information about the Tower Renewal project can be found here and information about the NFB project HIGHRISE can be found here.

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leADing Social change

Thursday, January 26th, 2012

It’s no secret that advertising influences behaviour; have you seen Apple’s first quarter results? More frequently though, ads are being used to create positive social change and raise awareness about social causes. In light of Ad Week 2012 here are a few GOOD ads:

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AMADEUSZ

Tuesday, October 18th, 2011

Would you ever bring your lunch to school in a plastic milk bag? I remember this question distinctly from a workshop I attended as a young person. My gut jerked a resounding no. Why would I do that? But this workshop was about critical thinking, not the aesthetics of lunch vessels. The facilitator encouraged discussion of the question and the group began a healthy debate about the perceptions of poverty, the idea of ghetto, the perception of wealth, and the environment. Why is being eco-conscious so intertwined with spending more money, when so many of our most vulnerable families make decisions based on necessity that are also environmentally friendly and thrifty. This was my experience of Amadeusz, a teaching method that focuses on culturally responsive education, life skills and leadership development. Through workshops youth develop a deeper understanding of the concepts of ghetto, hustling, oppression, and conflict resolution.

Fast forward a few years and Amadeusz has brought its commitment to educating Toronto’s young people to those who need it most. In 2009 Amadeusz launched the “Look At My Life Project” which provides young people aged 18- 30 who are held in remand in the Toronto West Detention Centre with the support and resources to obtain their General Educational Development Certificate or Ontario Secondary School Diploma. Through education, it is Amadeusz’s aim to create positive change in the lives of young people and their communities. In 2010 Amadeusz was able to bring the summer camp experience to the Roy McMurtry Youth Centre. This would be the first time a summer camp would operate in an Ontario secure facility for young people. Participants were engaged in life skills workshops, recreation and art activities.

Amadeusz is currently launching the “Look At My Life Project: Ain’t Goin’ Back” which works with youth in the Toronto West Detention Centre, The Toronto East Detention Centre and The Toronto Jail. The project will support 180 young people with their education needs over a three year period from fall 2011 to fall 2014. Youth will have the opportunity to write GED and course exams and graduate from high school as well as explore and prepare for post secondary schooling. The project hopes to decrease the recidivism rates of incarcerated youth by developing life skills and increasing education levels and employment readiness upon release. Amadeusz’s “Look At My Life Project” highlights the importance of education, and opportunity for growth and learning for youth during pre-sentence custody. The successes of this program can only be Good. as it alters the future of a vulnerable population, and paves the way for other groups to provide much needed unique programming and services.

For more information or to make a donation please visit www.amadeusz.ca

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Room For Thought

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011

American Express invites you to realize your potential by submitting an awesome idea that fits into one of the following categories: community, music, or travel and adventure. What we love about this contest is that it invites creative minds to change the world for the better as all entries must have an element of giving back. Three lucky winners will have the opportunity to bring their ideas to life with the mentorship of Free the Children co-founders Craig and Marc Kielburger, Metric lead singer Emily Haines and TV’s Survivorman, Les Stroud. The winning visionaries will also have the opportunity to materialize their ideas in a physical, interactive, free event open to the public in downtown Toronto in November.

For more info and to enter the Room For Thought contest visit:  www.Facebook.com/AmericanExpressCanada

Here’s what Craig Kielburger had to say about Room For Thought:

“I love the prospect of not just finding a great idea – but of bringing that idea to life in the middle of a city and inspiring others in the process. I can’t wait to see what Canadians imagine.”

Good luck and thinkGood.

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We Day!

Wednesday, September 29th, 2010

Toronto has been teeming with energy these past few weeks with TIFF, Manifesto, and now We Day, soon to be followed Nuit Blanche; does this city ever sleep? Tangent aside, We Day is an awesome youth event put together by Free the Children. It’s a day long event that kicks off a year long program of social change, We Schools in Action, at high schools across the country. We Day inspires, motivates, and ignites the passion of high school students by bringing them today’s top leaders in social change. Present at this year’s event will be K’naan, Deepak Chopra, Rick Hansen, Hedley, Philippe Cousteau, and many more. We Day brings students inspirational speeches and entertainment that they can bring back to their communities and then begin working towards creating change locally and globally. For  more information on the year long high school community action program – We Schools in Action, and its celebratory kick off – We Day click here.

If you’re not a student, and you’re intrigued by the event, fret not! We Day will be broadcast on CTV on Saturday October 30, 2010 (check your local listings for time slots) as well it will be streamed live on  www.weday.ctv.ca.

thinkGood. will definitely have all eyes and ears glued to this youth empowerment event that is committed to inspiring leadership, and active global citizenship in the youth of today.

Do Good, Feel Good, Live Good,

-Team thinkGood.

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F is for….FOOD!

Friday, August 13th, 2010

When I first heard about the Conscious Food Festival on the radio, my organic heart soared! A foodie event celebrating local, sustainable, natural food? Connecting our plates to the planet? Sign me up!

Featuring tastings, an urban farm, open forums, conscious debates, farmer demonstrations, seminars on social justice and the environment, plenty of vendors and interactive exhibits, the Conscious Food Festival will take place this weekend August 14th & 15th from 11 am – 7 pm at the Fort York National Historic Site (near the CNE). 

For more information about the festival and how to get tickets please click here.

Do Good, Feel Good, Live Good,

-Team thinkGood.

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Posted in Events, Food, Shopping Bag, Various | 2 Comments »

Certified Do-Gooder: Jenny of FPYN

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

A few years ago, I was invited by a good friend to a meeting of some of the most caring, hardest working, and passionate people in Toronto.  These people comprise Frontline Partners with Youth Network (FPYN) aka “eff-pin”.  It was at this meeting that I first met Jenny, the first lady of FPYN.  I was immediately struck by Jenny’s genuineness and honest spirit.  Click here to visit FPYN`s website, and keep reading to learn more about FPYN and Jenny!

Frontline Partners with Youth Network (FPYN) A.K.A. “eff-pin” started in 2005 when a small group of people working directly with youth came together to support each other in dealing with the impacts of gun violence.  Out of this emerged a support network to help people who work with youth who deal with situations that stretch beyond the mandates of their jobs and formal employment support systems.

FPYN also sends out The Mish/Mash, a bi-weekly consolidation of the hundreds of youth related emails into a single e-newsletter, distributed to over a thousand people in the GTA. The Mish/Mash is connecting community workers from across the city to vital resources and systems of support.

What inspires Jenny to do Good?
“I think it’s like an addiction sort of.  Generosity when people don’t expect it (kind of the basis of FPYN in some ways) is such a privilege to be able to take part in.  This spins into other positive things.”

How is Jenny trying to change the world?
“By listening to others, by carving out spaces of possibility for people to do whatever it is that they need to do in order to heal themselves, feel validated, find community, experience joy and safety.  I trust that whatever comes out of these spaces to be good and world changing for sure.  I believe we need to create change at the level of people’s individual hearts and spirits and at the same time address the broader systems that contribute to and often create our suffering.”

Who are some of Jenny`s heroes?
“Every young person I’ve been honoured to work with taught me things and inspired me.  Many of the frontline workers I’ve met have inspired me and members of FPYN’s Stewardship Group in particular.  All of my friends are my heroes.  My sister is my hero.”

What was Jenny`s last act of kindness?
“My last act of kindness…  kind of boring but it was checking in with someone who I know is having a hard time – just to let them know I was thinking about them.”

Stay tuned for upcoming posts on our Do-Gooder series.

Do Good, Feel Good, Live Good

- Team thinkGood.

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Posted in Do-gooders, Various | 1 Comment »

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