News

Previous SBL mentor shares his story of growing up in Jane and Finch. See the story below:

Abdul Nur, 19
Jane and Finch

I grew up in a five-bedroom townhouse in the ­Edgeley Village community housing complex. My whole life I had neighbours and friends who looked out for me. I have seven ­brothers and sisters, five older than me and two younger. My dad was a veterinarian in Somalia, but he now works in a shipping department. My mom keeps me on the right path.

When I was 16, I hung around with guys who would just roam the streets; we were like a flock of sheep, all following each other. Then one day in 2012, two of my friends got arrested on robbery charges. Police ransacked the community centre, taking them out in handcuffs, shoving them inside cruisers. And I’m watching this thinking, “Yo, these are the people I’m running around with.” I realized that would be me soon, getting carted away. I stopped hanging around with them after that.

Instead, I spent my time volunteering with a community group, Success Beyond Limits. Some of my older siblings had been involved in the program, which uses youth leaders to teach other kids about education and life goals. I worked with them as a peer mentor over four years. Today I teach a spoken word workshop once a week, and we’re taking a group from the community to perform at the Parapan Games this summer.

I graduated high school in 2013 but returned for another semester to improve my grades. I’m now in my first year at York—it’s a 10-minute walk from our house. I’m studying business management but thinking of switching to poli-sci. My mom always wanted me to be a doctor, but I want to be a teacher so that I can go back and teach in the community. I want to have a hand in how young people at Jane and Finch will grow up. They don’t have enough role models. If you’re a teacher, you’re going to be with them through some of the crucial points in their lives; you can have a huge influence.     – as told to Lauren McKeon

http://www.torontolife.com/informer/features/2015/01/21/toronto-is-failing-me-i-want-to-teach-kids-that-this-neighbourhood-isnt-a-curse/

Rosmun Prescod is an outgoing young lady, who not too long ago graduated from Westview Centennial Secondary School. Rosmun is now a Post-secondary student at Humber College studying social work, where she plans on utilizing her passion and skills to support young people within her community.

Rosmun admits that she was very unsure of her career goals during her high school years. It was not until she was introduced to the  “Promoting Excellence” program staff (prior to the Success Beyond Limits program) that she began thinking about her future. Her experience with the Success Beyond Limits Program provided the resources and support needed to explore various venues.  Her experience within these positive spaces meant that she was able to experience diverse programing and be exposed to a variety of opportunities.

As she thinks back to what made her enrol into a Post-Secondary Program such as social work, it becomes clear that this passion stems back to the years when she was a just a mentee in the SBL program. These experiences ultimately shaped her decision to pursue a career closely tied to community.

Rosmun is currently conducting her Community Engagement Placement (a requirement for her degree at Humber College) with the Success Beyond Limit’s organization, employing her passion for community, formal education and her experiences within the SBL youth space. She has proven to be yet another example of how support through mentorship can positively help development.  The organization recognizes Rosmun’s tremendous personal growth and encourages her to shoot for the stars!

In November, our monthly Toronto Foundation Vital Youth grant meant taking over World Bowl for a night of friendship and fun.  See it captured here – so beautifully – by our resident filmmaker Sariena (15 years young!).

As a part of our ongoing Vital Youth series of monthly sports and recreation events, we took it outdoors with the 1LoveTO Skate Party at the Harbourfront Centre.  On Saturday, December 21^st we filled up a bus and hit the ice.  It was an incredible evening, and a great way to kick off the holiday break.  For those who missed, check out the amazing video.  Believe me, you WANT to go skating with us.

It has been 6 months since the tragic passing of Abshir Hassan – a TDSB teacher, a community activist, graduate student and SBL family. As we continue to mourn his loss, we have been thinking about what it means and what comes next.

In continuing the important work Abshir was doing in the Jane and Finch and Lawrence Heights Community, in partnership with York University, SBL has established an awards fund looking to invest in young people who share first and foremost a similar passion in the uplifting of their communities. The award is being organized by two of Abshir’s closes friends and SBL staff Tesfai Mengesha and Sam Tecle.

Sam Tecle was on Metro Morning speaking to Matt Galloway sharing stories about growing up with Abhsir Hassan or has he refers to him Ab.

Here’s a link below:

http://www.cbc.ca/metromorning/episodes/2015/01/20/abshir-fund/

You can donate to Abshir’s Award Fund at the following link:

forabshir.ca

With Toota going back to school, we posted a position for our After School program and Youth Space at Westview.  The pool of applications was incredible, and there were a number of candidates who would be phenomenal, ready to hit the ground running.

We are excited to announce that Sam Tecle is the newest member of the SBL team.  Sam has a long-history with our program as a teacher in our summer program, as well as a consistent volunteer and mentor to many of our mentors.  Currently working on his PhD through the York University Faculty of Education, Sam brings a wealth of experience having grown up in the Jane and Finch community, working as a teacher, and deeply involved in community initiatives.

Most importantly, he will be a welcoming face in our programs.  He will begin on Monday, January 19^th and will be reachable through s.tecle@successbl.com as of Monday.

On Friday, January 9^th youth all over the GTA gathered at the Rogers Center for the 2015 Jays Care Foundation Amateur Baseball Clinic.  Thanks to our great friends at TD Bank, SBL youth enjoyed an evening of relationship building and discovery.

This opportunity incorporated many of the key elements in line with SBL’s mandate , including exposure of both the city and new activities and a space for relationship building. Students were given the opportunity to learn baseball fundamentals, explore the Blue Jays facilities all while having a blast!

“It was a great day. We got to do many different things. I’ve never played baseball before and I got to learn about it.”

-Haji Shee- Grade 9

The jays clinic was an amazing experience because i got to learn the fundamentals and techniques of playing baseball and got great advice from experienced players 😀

–Malik Mude- Grade 10

It was refreshing for the youth to practice baseball while leaving their comfort zone-Samuel Boakye- SBL Staff

Having the opportunity to explore arenas outside of Jane and Finch and doing so with their peers was an experience they will never forget!