Serve! celebrated its 15th Anniversary at Labatt Lounge on November 8th.  It was a resounding success, with friends, food, drinks, music and live performances!  We thank all of those who attended and hope you were able to reconnect with old friends and make new ones as well. 

Pictures and videos of the evening are posted here.

See you at the next 15th!

Team Potluck is proud to present its zine and toolkit. Created by youth for youth, this valuable kit raises awareness about LGBTTIQQ2S (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, intersex, queer, questioning, and two-spirited) concerns and provides education around the prevention of hate, phobia and violence. 

The zine includes stories, myths and facts, tips, interviews, info on being an ally, definitions, drawings, comics, and a resource guide.

Over a 5 month period, Team Potluck, a group of 10 diverse youth in the Experience This! program participated in the project Don’t Just Sit There, Stand Up Together.  The team executed research and compiled material for the zine resource, implemented some public awareness activities, and designed a creative poster.  The toolkit (including the zine, poster, magnets, and stickers) is available for public education and will be distributed to youth-serving agencies/organizations--especially to sites with limited access to LGBTTIQQ2S education and resources.

Contact us if you are interested in receiving a copy.

This picture represents the entire region of Flemingdon Park. Many people call this home. And many memories (good and bad) are made in this neighbourhood.  Many programs are used to help children, and adults. There’s lots of room for everyone to play and hang out. This neighbourhood itself has expanded a lot over the years and is accustomed to many cultures and religions. Lastly, Flemingdon is my home and home to many others.
- Step Up March Break Participant

This past March, we asked participants in Serve!’s Step Up March Break Program to participate in some photo-blogging.

The participants, who were 13-16 years old and living in Flemingdon Park, took photos of places and things in and around Flemingdon Park and wrote a reflection about the significance of them to them.

You can see the results of their photo-blogging on the May 2008 section of the Serve! Blog

Recognizing a need among young youth workers in the city, Serve! has taken on a new initiative which would be different from yet build on other Serve! programs. Through the Boost for Youth initiative, youth workers (or prospective) youth workers ages 16-29 participate in interactive training workshops.  The workshops focus on anti-oppression/cultural competence, understanding and managing conflict as well as team/group dynamics. The aim of the training is to build understanding and skills that support equity, diversity and positive relationships.

The workshops are underway and are proving to be a great success. Through self exploration and experiential learning, participants are building awareness, skills and confidence in addressing oppression in their work with youth and creating more safe and equitable environments for their clients.

The workshops are offered for FREE to youth agencies/organizations throughout the city and can be offered as a series or a stand-alone session. If your group or agency is interested in taking part in the Boost for Youth training please contact Elaine Munro, Program Manager, at (416) 933-2950 or email

The youth in Serve!’s full-time Experience This! program have organized a “Big Block Party” at Nathan Phillips Square to help end violence against women.

The Big Block Party will be held at Nathan Phillips Square on Friday April 11, 2008 beginning at 5pm. Featuring musicians, spoken word artists and poets, the event seeks to raise awareness about eliminating violence against women put together in conjunction with the White Ribbon Campaign and Serve!

The event features an amazing (and diverse) line-up of artists, which includes (subject to availability): Canadian Idol finalist Kamilla Miller; Truth Is, a spoken word artist who was the Up From the Roots’ 5th Annual Toronto International Poetry Slam finalist; Boonaa Mohammed, who has won numerous poetry slams around Toronto and is the 2007 CBC poetry face-off champion. The Big Block Party will also feature folk musicians, hip- hop artists (“Stolen from Africa”), Reggae (Trinity Chris), drama and dance.

MuchMusic VJ Hannah Simone is also scheduled to appear.

The event was organized by members of Team Potluck, the team from this year’s Experience This! program. Over the past six months, team members have worked on projects to raise awareness about violence and discrimination. The team of youth partnered with The White Ribbon Campaign, the world’s largest movement of men working to end violence against women.

Note: the date for this event has changed from April 4 due to inclement weather