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The Somali Youth Coalition (SYC) is a community reach organization based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was formed in 2001 when representatives from several child-youth service organizations united to identify and address the needs of and challenges facing the city's Somali youth.
In 2003, the Trillium Foundation of Ontario approved an SYC grant to establish the Somali Youth Support Project. The project’s goals include keeping youth in school, involving them in community, social, recreational, sporting and educational activities, encouraging volunteerism, and promoting youth leadership within the Somali community.
That same year, the SYC initiated two youth support programs: the Gang Prevention program and the Youth Support Services project. The Gang Prevention project is aimed at young Somalis in the Rexdale area of Toronto with the goal of working in conjunction with the Somali community, Somali parents, and Canadian public systems such as Education, Parks & Recreation, Child Welfare, and Criminal Justice to provide educational and preventative services to the local Somali youth and their parents. The Somali Youth Support program, for its part, works with the Somali community as well as mainstream institutions to reduce the risk factors that might cause Somali youth to drop out of school, join gangs and run into trouble with the law. The Project's strategy is to adopt an early prevention approach by promoting staying in school, getting involved in community recreation and sporting events, and developing young leaders who can serve as role models for other Somali youth.
Under the umbrella of the Somali Youth Coalition, the Somali Youth Association of Toronto (SOYAT), Midaynta (a settlement and family services organization) and the Children's Aid Society of Toronto established in 2004 the Somali Youth Recognition Awards (SYRA), a ceremony that recognizes the significant achievements of and contributions to the Somali community by individual Somali youngsters. The SYRA also gives the Somali community a chance to show ownership and pride in its young people.
In order to win the award, nominees must meet a series of demanding general and award-specific criteria such as maintaining a minimum grade point average, managing or owning a business, setting a good example for other Somali youth, getting involved with the community and volunteering on a regular basis, among other things. Nine young men and nine young women are then selected to be recognized for outstanding achievement in a specific category.
Advancement and recognition in the Boy Scouts of America is a tradition dating from the inception of the Scouting movement. A fundamental purpose of advancement is the self-confidence a young man or woman acquires from his participation in Scouting. Advancement is one of the methods used in the "Aims and Methods of Scouting"– character development, citizenship training and personal fitness.
Scouts Canada is a Canadian Scouting association providing programs for young people, between the ages of 5 and 26, with the stated aim "To help develop well rounded youth, better prepared for success in the world". Scouts Canada, in affiliation with the French-language Association des Scouts du Canada, is a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement. In 2021–22, youth membership stood at 33,899, a 48% decline from 64,693 in 2014–15. Over the same period, volunteer numbers also declined 43%, from 20,717 in 2015 to 11,765 in 2022. Scouts Canada has declined significantly in size since its peak: youth membership is down 82% from 288,084 in 1965 and volunteer numbers are down 50% from 33,524 in 1965.
James K. Gordon is a Canadian politician, who served as mayor of Sudbury, Ontario from 1976 to 1981 and from 1991 to 2003, and as a Member of Provincial Parliament for the provincial electoral district of Sudbury from 1981 to 1987. He briefly served in the Executive Council of Ontario, holding the position of Minister of Government Services in 1985.
The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is the national governing body for tennis in the United States. A not-for-profit organization with more than 700,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds to promote and develop the growth of tennis, from the grass-roots to the professional levels. The association was created to standardize rules and regulations and to promote and develop the growth of tennis in the United States.
The 519, formerly known as The 519 Church Street Community Centre, is an agency by the City of Toronto. A Canadian charitable, non-profit organization, it operates a community centre in the Church and Wellesley neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The 519 serves both its local neighbourhood and the broader lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities in the Toronto area. The 519 defines its local neighbourhood by a catchment area that spans from Bloor Street to the north to Gerrard Street to the south, and from Bay Street in the west to Parliament Street in the east.
The Sierra Youth Coalition (SYC) is a national Canadian organization run by youth for youth, founded in 1996, and serving as the youth arm of the Sierra Club of Canada Foundation. Its stated mission is "to empower Canadians ages 14-26 to become active community leaders who contribute to making Canada a sustainable society." SYC was founded in 1996 by Amelia Clarke. Its members range in age from 15 to 30 years old.
Supporting Our Youth (SOY) is an organization based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which runs programs and events geared to supporting the special needs of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, transsexual and intersex youth. SOY gets support and involvement from local youth and adults that volunteer their time to help improve each other’s lives. SOY’s main focus points are helping the youth create healthy arts, recreational spaces, culture, supportive housing, and employment.
Learning for Life (LFL) is a United States school and work-site based youth program that is an affiliate of the Boy Scouts of America. It utilizes programs designed for schools and community-based organizations that are designed to prepare youth for the complexities of contemporary society and to enhance their self-confidence, motivation, and self-esteem, and for careers.
United for Literacy a Canadian literacy organization established in 1899 by Alfred Fitzpatrick. It was founded as the Reading Camp Association and was renamed Frontier College in 1919. In 2022, Frontier College changed its name to United for Literacy.
Margarett R. Best is a former politician from Ontario, Canada. She was a Liberal candidate of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2007 to 2013 and represented the riding of Scarborough—Guildwood. She was a cabinet minister in the government of Dalton McGuinty.
Somali Canadians are Canadians of Somali origin or are dual Somali and Canadian nationality.
The Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs is a group within the executive branch of the U.S. government, and is responsible for promoting healthy outcomes for all youth, including disconnected youth and youth who are at-risk. The Working Group also engages with national, state, local and tribal agencies and organizations, schools, and faith-based and community organizations that serve youth.
Aditya Jha is an Indian Canadian entrepreneur, philanthropist and social activist. A globetrotter, his business portfolio consists of several startups and company turnarounds with interests in Canada, India, Thailand and India. He also runs several philanthropic initiatives through his Private Charitable Foundation, promoting education and nurturing entrepreneurship to increase opportunities for the less fortunate. Jha takes special interest in nurturing prosperity and financial independence amongst Canadian First Nations (aboriginal) communities and individuals through education scholarships at top Canadian universities and a project that nurtures entrepreneurship. Jha is 2012 inductee to the Order of Canada, Canada's highest civilian award.
MediaSmarts is a Canadian non-profit organization and registered charity based in Ottawa, Ontario, that focuses on digital and media literacy programs and resources. In particular, the organization promotes critical thinking via educational resources and analyzes the content of various types of mass media.
Shadya Yasin is a Somali social activist, poet and teacher.
Ahmed Hussen is a Canadian lawyer and politician who has been serving as the Minister of International Development since July 26, 2023. A member of the Liberal Party, Hussen has also sat as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Toronto-area the riding of York South—Weston since the 2015 federal election. He previously served as the Minister of Housing, Diversity and Inclusion from 2021 to 2023, Minister of families, children and social development from 2019 to 2021 and the minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship from 2017 to 2019. He is the first Somali-Canadian to be elected to the House of Commons and the first to hold a federal Cabinet position.
Yvan Baker is a Canadian politician who was elected to represent the federal riding of Etobicoke Centre in the 2019 federal election. He is a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. Prior to entering federal politics, he served as the Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for the provincial riding of Etobicoke Centre from 2014 to 2018.
Mark M. Persaud, LL.B., LL.M., LL.D. is a Canadian lawyer, entrepreneur, civic leader, and public figure. He is a former federal prosecutor.
The Ontario Alliance of Climbers is an independent, provincial, volunteer, non-profit organization that works to keep climbing and bouldering areas open in Ontario, Canada. The organization's stated purpose is to help conserve access to climbing by advocating protection for the climbing environment, by resolving access issues as they arise, and by proactively engaging with and educating the climbing community.