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 Kristen Porter, Community Development Coordinator, at (416) 933-2950 or

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

They jump through hoops in the business world every day, but what are the wizards of the corporate world like when it comes to shooting hoops?

We’re going to find out during the 2008 Bay Street Hoops tournament, presented by RBC Direct Investing. The gurus of the boardroom meet the backboard in this tournament that pits men’s and women’s teams from the city’s corporate realm against each other for three days of exciting basketball. It’s one of Toronto’s premier charity sports events and it helps Serve!

This year’s fundraising goal is $200,000, which will go the tournament’s beneficiaries, Special Olympics Ontario and Serve!

The event is held March 27-29 at the University of Toronto Athletic Centre, 55 Harbord St., and Ryerson University, 350 Victoria St. About 70 teams compete on Thursday and Friday evening, and Saturday morning. All teams play in a three-game, full court, five-on-five, round-robin format, with experienced referees. Semi-finals and finals are on Saturday afternoon at the University of Toronto Athletic Centre.

New this year is the Unified Basketball division, where Special Olympics athletes and students from St. Andrew’s College and Havergal College will compete in an integrated six-team division within the Bay Street Hoops tournament on Saturday at University of Toronto.

In addition to the tournament, there’s also a “Tip-off” event that includes the Mazda Shoot-for-a-Car competition held at First Canadian Place on Thursday, March 27 at noon; a children’s basketball clinic with Raptor’s coach Sam Mitchell on Saturday, March 29 at 2 p.m.; and a Post-Game Party that will includes dinner and a silent auction. The Post-Game Party is open to everyone (you don’t have to attend the tournament)-- tickets cost $20 and it’s held at the Steam Whistle Brewery.

For more information on the tournament, to sign up a team, or to get tickets for the Post-Game Party visit the Bay Street Hoops website or contact us.

The latest issue of Momentum, Serve!’s newsletter, is now available. This edition features articles about Serve!’s programs and projects over the past year including:

• Lights! Camera! POV!: Behind the scenes Serve!’s summer filmmaking project
• Serving Up The Summer in Flemingdon Park
• Creating Connections In Malvern
• Barenaked in Rosedale 2007 rocks the backyard
• A Serve! graduate talks about schizophrenia
• A donor profile of Bay Street Hoops
• And more!