East Scarborough Boys and Girls Club hosts virtual Walk-A-Thon To Raise $10,000 to maintain Youth Programs

BY SELINA McCALLUM

On the morning of Saturday, July 18th, staff and board members of East Scarborough were a part, but not alone as they set out at 10 a.m. to walk in their neighbourhoods for 3.5 km to raise money for their fundraiser, Be Boundless: Soles and Steps. The funds raised will go towards the many programs and services they offer for families within the Galloway community in Scarborough.

The fundraising goal was set at $10,000, and that morning they had already successfully raised $6,600.

Participants were encouraged to take photos or film themselves walking in a space, socially distancing from strangers, and post it on their social media accounts to encourage others to donate.

Ashley Abdul is the Communications Assistant for the ESBGC.

“Hello everybody. Good morning! I have on my Boys and Girls Club shirt and I got my walk on for this walk-a-thon,” said Abdul in her video she posted Saturday morning. “So, stay tuned, and stay locked on to our story to see who else is participating. Thank you everybody for being a part of the campaign and raising money with us.”

The ESBGC has provided a safe space for children and youth to grow and learn for years. They hope to continue their work surrounding diversity and equity, providing services to over 5,000 children and youth.

“We serve people from age 0, all the way into their early twenties. The Boys and Girls Club is a space for people to just come through and participate in programming. We have free breakfast, we have after school programming, and summer camps and more,” said Abdul.

The Boys and Girls Club is located in the Kingston-Galloway community, which is a diverse neighbourhood in Scarborough Village with a population of 23,427 people. The community has a high percentage of low-income families at 33%, compared to the Toronto average of 19%, with a high concentration of these families living in the immediate Kingston-Galloway area. 70% of the community is a visible minority, with a quarter identifying as black.

Gang violence and criminal activity has also scarred the neighbourhood. Less than half of the youth complete post-secondary education.

“I think one of the most important things is that we provide a safe space. Youth do not have to worry about where they are going to go after school. We do not want kids wandering around the streets which could propel them into unsafe activities,” said Abdul. “At SEGBC, they can relax, they can feel safe, they can feel understood and just talk.”

In 2019, Be Boundless consisted of an international exchange to Ghana that provided ten youth the opportunity to travel. They were exposed to cultural traditions that were celebrated within the African communities, developed environmentally sustainable practices, and explored historical moments.

The purpose of the trip was to install in ten youth confidence within themselves that they can bring valuable change within their own communities. It was a huge opportunity for them to see the world outside their neighbourhood, build relationships and experience new things.

“We had a GoFundMe, we had a gala, and we did a lot of cool things to raise money to send the youth to Ghana. We weren’t able to continue the whole idea of the cultural exchange because of the pandemic, but what we wanted to do was keep that experience alive,” said Abdul.

When quarantine began, Abdul and her team knew that they would have to come up with another way to raise money this year. Then with the tragic murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, they decided to focus on anti-racism.

“For years and years, we have been dealing with racism that hasn’t necessarily been on the surface. Internally we were dealing with systematic racism, racial profiling and the incarceration of young people,” said Abdul.

“So why Soles and Steps is so important is because we want to sustain our programs to continue to provide positive experiences for our youth and continue empowering them through our services and programs. We want to understand what the community needs, so we can provide a space that they want to be in, grow in, and achieve their goals in.”

Although the walk-a-thon is over, ESBGC is still collecting donations until August 2nd, 2020. Visit their GoFundMe called ESBGC FUNDRAISER: Soles and Steps Walk-A-Thon to make a onetime donation.