Community News
Kingston College Old Boys Association welcomes the community to their 5th Annual 5K Fundraising Walk
BY MICHAEL THOMAS
Kingston College Old Boys Association Toronto chapter is hosting its fifth annual Fortis 5K fundraising walkathon on Saturday, September 14th, 2019, at Chinguacousy Park, Brampton.
This organization, which was started on December 9th, 1973, when 33 Kingston College Old Boys met at Seneca College in Toronto and established the Kingston College Old Boys Association (Tor). The idea to form the association is attributed to Messrs Dr. Fredrick “Buddy” McIntosh and Winston “Aggery” Johnson, although others have been reputed to be toying with the idea. In November of 1973, Buddy (a former student of Aggery) invited Aggery to dinner at his home and it was there that 12 names were tallied and the idea to form a Toronto chapter was born. This chapter is now in its 46th year.
There will also be an additional fun run component to this year’s walk with Olympian Ben Johnson. He has been giving back quietly in a number of ways from working with children to working with the police association. As of now, there are more than 10 schools and community associations that have joined this cause to help raise funds and help needy students across the GTA and the Caribbean. The proceeds from last year’s walk paid for dental care for students attending Kingston College, Jamaica and contributed to the reconstruction of Salabia Primary school in Dominica.
Toronto Caribbean Newspaper spoke with Mr. Alexander Francis AKA Frano a Life Director of the Kingston College Old Boys Association Toronto chapter who told TCN, “We have about 15 other groups working with us: one group supporting orphanages in Ghana, one in Jamaica, and another doing the same thing in Guyana, when it comes to helping the needy, we are all in the same business, raising funds to assist a worthy causes.”
Francis said his organization gives scholarships here and abroad as well. “Its all about giving back and there are no words to describe the satisfaction that one derives from it.” He gave an example of this feeling when after last years walk, dental programs were introduced to students attending Kinston College and the headline in the newspaper quoted the students as saying, “KC Old Boys are the Best in the World.”
Another student told him a story of how his father was saving money to send him to the dentist but just could not save enough, but now I got my teeth filled. Francis, said, “I was literally in tears.”
Francis told Toronto Caribbean Newspaper “We not only take care of the students we also take care of the school staff, grounds people and cleaners, who are all part of the program and right now we have plans to get over 200 laptops and lab equipment to the school because we take care of our own.”
Speaking of their own, Francis said some public figures came out of KC Old Boys; people like Mr. Lloyd Wilks Jamaica Consul General to Toronto and Mattis Law of the criminal and family law firm to name a few.
The Life Director of the Kingston College Old Boys Association Toronto had a message for like-minded folks who would like to help out, “Come on board,” he said, “We are here and we are open. We want to welcome you with open arms; we have work for you and we have a need for your generous donation be it cash or in kind. Recently a local dentist pledged to cover the school’s toothpaste needs in its entirety, so come September all students in that school will not have to buy toothpaste,” Francis told Toronto Caribbean Newspaper.
Francis encourages everyone to come and join the walk and BBQ that follows and to meet and greet the people that are involved in this operation. Also to check the website http://kcobatoronto.com/index.php/donations/ this way you can keep abreast of what’s happening and learn more about the organization.