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Several Johnson & Johnson (J&J) employees have chosen to take advantage of the corporate Product Donations Program to provide each UrbanPromise Toronto (UPT) summer camp with a supply of health care and first aid items. This J&J initiative is part of an overall commitment to Caring through Giving which is embodied in their corporate Credo:
"We must be good citizens — support good works and charities and bear our fair share of taxes. We must encourage civic improvements and better health and education."
J&J employee, Paul Mihelcic, was the first staff member to participate in this program for the benefit of UPT back in 2008 when he became aware of the need for first aid supplies at Camp Victory in North Etobicoke. Since then the program has expanded to include all of our camps and the quantity of items provided means that this need is met for the entire year. This kind of partnership between corporations and charities is invaluable.
With a good supply of resources on hand staff know that they can confidently handle the minor bumps and scrapes that are bound to occur when children play.
The Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies is the world’s most comprehensive and broadly based manufacturer of health care products, as well as a provider of related services for the consumer, pharmaceutical and medical devices and diagnostics markets. |
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We are busy making plans to welcome 15 summer interns to Toronto on June 26, 2010 for the experience of a life-time!
While other young people are enjoying sunny days at camp or working at Walmart, these committed young people will volunteer 8 weeks of their time this summer to help run our Summer Camps for children and youth who live in some of Toronto most at-risk communities. Along the way they’ll be mentored by seasoned staff and experience cross-cultural missions in an urban setting.
What they learn will change their lives and the way they see the world forever.
Sarah, now preparing for her third summer with UPT, says quite candidly, “I thought summer camp was the coolest thing ever! I loved the connection that the leaders had with the kids. The way they knew their families, the way they were such a huge part of their lives.”
The summer intern adventure begins with 2 weeks of training, orientation and ministry preparation before they begin working in one of our communities. In the community they will become a vital part of a team comprised of UrbanPromise Toronto (UPT) staff, volunteers and community youth. They will be involved in the planning and running of exciting summer day camps for children and youth in their neighbourhood. These camps are full of recreation activities, Bible studies, arts & crafts, music, science and field trips.
Each intern also has a unique opportunity to grow personally while they live together in community with other interns from around the world. Together, they will study the Bible and support each other in ministry.
This summer these young missionaries will volunteer over 4,800 ministry hours and personally impact the lives of at least 12 kids each. While this is all very significant the real benefits cannot be expressed in numbers. How would we begin to calculate the value of a caring young adult who chooses to serve as a role model for an inner-city child whose world is all about gangs, guns, drugs and the violence that is just a part of the way things are in the neighbourhood?
“Our Summer Internships are a huge investment in young Christian leaders,” says Jeremy Reurich (Intern Director) who along with his wife, Jessica, provides leadership for our Intern Program.
To learn more about our Intern Program click here. |
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Over the next several months a group of brave UrbanPromise Toronto (UPT) supporters will be logging hundreds of miles as they train to participate in the 2010 Scotiabank Group Charity Challenge at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. Along the way they’ll be raising money for UPT by asking family and friends to sponsor their run.
On September 26, 2010 an estimated 7,200 runners will participate in the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. That same day another 8,800 runners will tackle the Half Marathon and another 4,000 will run or walk the 5K road race.
There is a certain mystic about running a marathon and it is one thing that often shows up on a list of things people would like to do in their lifetime. It is no small feat! At 42.195 kilometres (26 miles and 385 yards) it is the kind of run which has always been accepted as an endurance benchmark for serious athletes. It takes 18 – 22 weeks to train for a marathon and that will just get you ready to finish the race with no consideration given to how long it takes you to drag your body through the course and over the finish line.
Despite the obvious challenge a marathon represents, the real heroes on September 26th will be the few runners who run for charity as part of the Scotiabank Group Charity Challenge. Regardless of the distance these committed souls chose to run, they will be going the distance for various local charities. Last year, about 3,500 runners participated in the Group Charity Challenge and they were able to raise $2.3 million for 99 registered charities here in the GTA.
Thanks to the generous sponsorship of Scotiabank the Group Charity Challenge provides runners with all the tools they need to conduct their own online fundraising campaign and 100% of the money raised goes to the official charities registered to participate in the event.
"Scotiabank is especially proud to be able to support and enrich this great city through the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon and the Charity Challenges that come with it," said John Doig, Scotiabank Senior Vice-President, Marketing. "As we wrap up 20th anniversary celebrations [2009], we can really take pride in how the Marathon benefits important community causes and how far it has come over the past 20 years."
In 2009 we had 7 runners join the Group Charity Challenge to raise money for UrbanPromise Toronto and they were able to raise over $7,000. This year we aim to have 50 runners participate and raise $50,000.
For more information on this event, to run for UrbanPromise or sponsor a runner, click here. |
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The 2009 Metro Bowl featured two of our very own Streetleaders, Rashaun Richards and Curtis Carmichael, who played for Birchmount Park Collegiate located in Scarborough.
The Ontario provincial senior high school football championships are held in November each year at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. Rashaun and Curtis were looking forward to their team’s first appearance in the Metro Bowl after clinching the semi-finals with a 16-10 win over Trinity College of Port Hope.
“I was playing offense at the biggest game and I wanted to play my best, and play for those in their last year cause I’ve seen how dedicated they were to the game,” said Curtis, leader at children’s Camp Hope in Warden Woods, Scarborough.
Once they started shutting out teams in their regular season, the Panthers became the fan favourite. That’s why many were unprepared for their 19-0 loss to the Markham Marauders in the championship game. Though disappointed with the outcome, all the players and their coaches felt privileged to get that far in the season.
“I’m proud of how far we made it even though we had a lot of adversaries, no one thought we’d make it past city finals,” Curtis added.
We at UrbanPromise Toronto congratulate our boys on a stellar season and are looking forward to what next year holds!
“Both these guys are amazing leaders and to see them in action as amazing athletes made the game all the more sweeter, so it doesn’t matter that they lost, we’re just proud of them for making it that far!” said UPT staff member, Tami Lee-Masson, who was cheering them on with the rest of their UPT family.
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