"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony." Gandhi

LOFT Connect the Dot

Toronto Youth Celebrate “Uniting Youth Spaces Day” at Dufferin Mall on Saturday, May 30^th Noon - 6:00 pm

connect-the-dot-may-30

Youth raise their voices to support youth spaces and promote their skills and passion with music, art and community presentations.

Press Release:

(For Immediate Release, May 15, 2009) TORONTO, ON – Youth from eleven youth centres from all over the city of Toronto are coming to Dufferin Mall, 900 Dufferin Street, from noon to 6:00 pm on Saturday, May 30^th to celebrate Uniting Youth Space Day with our first annual “Connect the DOT” event. The event will showcase the talent, skills and entrepreneurial initiative of youth with displays, sales of fundraising CDs and clothing, and live stage performances. The event is called Connect the DOT to help the wider community to connect the dots between issues such as youth violence, youth in the community, safe youth spaces, and resources to support youth. The event is hosted by Dufferin Mall Youth Services which is a centre located in the mall and supported by Oxford Properties Group, owner and manager of the mall.

Partners for this event include Davenport Perth Neighbourhood House, Dufferin Mall Youth Services (Abrigo Centre), Frontline Partners with Youth Network, LOFT Youth Program (Christie Ossington Neighbourhood Centre), Por Amour, St. Albans Boys and Girls Club, St. Christopher House, St. Stephen’s Community House, SKETCH, The SPOT (Jane Finch Community and Family Centre), Thorncliffe Neighbourhood Office, and University Settlement Recreation Centre

Uniting Youth Spaces Day has been proclaimed by the City of Toronto in recognition of the role youth play in the life of the city and the priority the city has made of providing youth spaces in underserved neighbourhoods in Toronto.

As well as providing entertainment, the youth at Connect the DOT have an important political message as well. Youth are calling for a commitment from the Province to connect the dots and support youth spaces with urgently needed resources:

No more youth centres to close. We need urgent help to keep centres open and re-open centres that have recently closed.

Support youth centres as youth hubs. We need a plan to implement in the next year the recommendations of the Ontario Roots of Youth Violence Report.

Repair youth centres. In this economic crisis, we need to use capital infrastructure funds to create jobs for youth to renovate and repair youth centres in Ontario.

Youth will also speak about their accomplishments and goals: “The LOFT has taught me so much,” says Yung Rem from Christie Ossington Neighbourhood Centre, “I used to have trouble communicating with other people. The LOFT helped me learn how to express myself through my music and has brought me to a new level of music making. The LOFT has given me the opportunity to be involved in something I love doing and has kept me out of a lot of trouble.”