Academic club sets kids on the path to a productive life
For Jamaican-born Rachelle Litchmore, education was always the key to a productive life.
"It's what my parents instilled in me from day one and what I want to give back to kids who need the confidence and self-esteem to go on to university or college."
The fourth-year University of Toronto student and volunteer with IMANI: The Black Students' Alliance is also a mentor at the Boys & Girls Club of East Scarborough. IMANI and the Boys and Girls Club work in partnership to offer youth positive alternatives to the guns and gangs culture so many of them are exposed to. One such program is the Academic Mentorship Program that matches community volunteers with students who need tutoring and homework support.
"If I weren't here every day after school, I'd be getting into trouble," admits twelve-year-old, Gavin Pierce who has been coming to the Boys & Girls Club for the past four years. "They help me understand math, not by giving me the answers but by encouraging me to think for myself."
It's United Way programs like this one that provide Toronto's youth with opportunities for positive choices in life.