2022 JLT Seed Grant recipients

Flemingdon Park Ministry

The JLT provided funding for their Healthy Soil to Healthy Bodies program, a Food Security project in the Flemingdon Park community providing education on healthy eating and access to organic produce grown at the Common Table Farm.

Seed Grant funding will assist with purchase of refrigeration equipment, hand-trucks to transport produce from the gardens, cooking class ingredients, printing of materials, and waterproofing the roof at the learning hub.

The Flemingdon Park neighbourhood is very culturally diverse with many families, seniors, newcomers and refugees, and the number of households living under the poverty line is higher than the average for Toronto.

Shadowpath Theatre

Shadowpath Theatre is a professional theatre company and charitable organization that serves disadvantaged, homeless, and youth who identify as 2SLGBTQ+ and non-binary in York Region.

The JLT provided funding for their Stories of the Alphabet Community (SOTAC) initiative empowering 2SLGBTQ+ youth to share their stories/experiences through a variety of art forms. This culminated in a show featuring different rooms for each colour of the rainbow flag during Pride Month.

This program provided opportunities for youth to share their voice and invest creatively in their community. Youth also had a chance to complete training in community engagement and build a deeper sense of connectedness with their peers, developing new skills which could be applied to future employment.

2020 SEED GRANT RECIPIENTS

Aura Freedom International

Aura Freedom International promotes the human rights of women and girls and prevents gender-based violence by advancing gender equality. The JLT provided funding for their Male Allyship Engagement Initiative to engage young men and boys in combatting human trafficking and gender-based violence. The presentations will include how and why men are forced to conform to society’s version of masculinity, and how to take a stand against violence and exploitation.

Trails Youth Initiatives

Trails Youth Initiatives works to instill relevant knowledge, practical skills and the self-confidence to use them. Ultimately, Trails Youth Initiatives aims to increase the youth’s chances of success. With the JLT funding, students will participate in workshops/guest speakers to help them understand healthy risk-taking, provide outlets to promote physical health and answer questions about mental health/sexuality.

2018 SEED GRANT RECIPIENTS

Horizons for Youth

The JLT provided funding for their storytelling program — trained storytellers will lead workshops for clients at homeless shelter to create and share stories.

Merry Go Round Children’s Foundation

Their Kids, Cops, and Computers program currently provides laptops to 7th grades without access to computers and offers programming with police mentorship.

The JLT provided funding for their new pilot program to build job readiness for kids who have graduated from their Kids, Cops and Computers program and are now looking for their first job. Sessions will help with skill building and job searchs.

Women’s Centre of York Region

The JLT provided funding for their Making Changes program which serves marginalized and low income women who have experienced abuse, unemployment.  They are developing a new life skills program to help women apply the skills they’ve learned to their lives: self empowerment, effective communication, and healthy boundaries.

2017 SEED GRANT RECIPIENTS

The Centre for Dreams The JLT provided funding for their DreamWorx program – a specialized job training program that will assist people with disabilities to succeed in the workplace.

The Centre for Dreams is a York region based, non-profit day program for youth and adults, 21 years of age and older, living with a developmental disability. The Centre for Dreams provides these individuals training in subjects such as basic reading skills, how to use the public transit, how get jobs, how to handle their own financial management, general health and hygiene, and social and behavioral skills.

Children’s Aid Foundation The JLT provided funding for their Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (TFCBT), an evidence-based psychotherapy, an effective interventions for managing mental health symptoms such as anxiety, depression, mood and trauma reduction. This treatment model is designed to assist children, adolescents, and their families in overcoming the negative effects of a traumatic experience.

The Children’s Aid Foundation funds programs that give Canada’s most neglected, vulnerable kids the support they need to reinvent their lives.

Kennedy House Youth Services The JLT provided funding for their “Essential Skills Program for Homeless Youth” at their shelter. This program will give homeless youth the essential skills and experience they will need to become part of the labour market.

The Kennedy House Youth Services helps approximately 350 homeless youth each year, by giving them a safe place to sleep, warm meals, clothing and supplies, as well as the support they need to turn their lives around.

Stonegate Community Health Centre The JLT provided funding for a sewing program geared to training women in a useful skill for employment in a low income area.

Stonegate Community Health Centre has been providing primary health care, health promotion and a wide variety of community programs since 1992.

Trails Youth Initiatives The JLT provided funding for a mindfulness program for at-risk youth.

Trails Youth Initiatives’ mission is to challenge and equip vulnerable girls and boys from at-risk areas of Toronto to become contributing members of their communities.

Up With Women The JLT provided funding for coaching, employment, and professional training to women who have been homeless.

Up With Women is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping recently homeless and at-risk women to build sustainable, prosperous careers and businesses with the aim of permanently exiting poverty.

Youth Without Shelter The JLT provided funding for “One Youth at A Time” a workshop for school children on youth homelessness geared toward early intervention.

Youth Without Shelter (YWS) is an emergency residence and referral agency serving homeless youth. They are dedicated to providing shelter and support programs for homeless youth. They provide an independent shelter, committed to diverse client focused services, in a safe, non­judgmental environment. Their programs enable youth to live responsibly and independently in society. 

2016 SEED GRANT RECIPIENTS

ArtHart Community Art Center The JLT provided funding for a Syrian Refugee Resettlement Arts Project to provide a visual arts drop-in for Syrian refugees and their sponsor families to visit our visual arts studio to be creative together.  The goals of this initiative are to provide opportunities to learn about the Regent Park community, to form new friendships and to build their communication skills in English.

Child Development Institute The JLT provided funding  for a gender specific component of the SNAP (Stop Now and Plan) program.  SNAP Girls will offer techniques and principles from a feminist perspective, tackles issues that contribute to girl-specific behaviour problems, such as social aggression, while focusing on some of the most prevalent childhood mental health issues, including anxiety and mood disorders.

LOFT Community Services The JLT provided funding  to launch a new Art Therapy program for the Transitional Age Youth program (TAY). TAY offers support and case management for youth mental health issues and youth addictions, and assists homeless youth in finding safe and affordable housing in Toronto.  TAY is aimed at ages 16 to 26 and exists to fill the significant gaps that exist between youth and adult services sectors, and between hospital and community-based services.

Lost Lyrics The JLT provided funding to develop a youth-led curriculum and conference that explores issues relating to Rape and Consent through mainstream media.

VIBE Arts Offers free arts education programs to marginalized children and youth and develop program participants into volunteers, into program assistants, into program leaders and into Toronto’s next generation of artistic leaders.  The JLT provided funding to develop peer-led session sessions a year that would include presentations by youth on their projects, techniques and learnings, panels of youth discussing topics of interest, and also some informal but facilitated discussions on topics requested by youth.

2015 SEED GRANT RECIPIENTS

Disabled Sailing Association of Ontario provides the empowerment and independence of sailing to persons with physical and mental disabilities. They will be purchasing sailing assisted devices which provide quadriplegic sailors the ability to control power assist systems using their breath.

Girls e-Mentorship Innovation connects at-risk girls in high school with successful female professional mentors, providing them with personal and academic support to encourage success in their studies and careers. They will be expanding their tutoring, exam preparation and post-secondary application workshops.

Jumbles Theatre Group is a community based arts organization which undertakes multiyear residencies in urban neighbourhoods. They have recently expanded to the downtown CityPlace development where they are developing a dance program for mixed income teens.

MABELLEarts brings new Canadian women together to teach the fundamentals of homecraft, such as sewing, textiles, etc. They will be purchasing new sewing machines to expand their programming. 

 St. Stephen’s Community House offers an alternative fitness program for at-risk youth. They have developed a Dance Workshop which trains peer leaders to organize dance classes, by working with local studios and instructors to offer dance classes and performances in the community.

2013 SEED GRANT RECIPIENTS

The Scarborough Women’s Centre received $2000 to expand their Building Strong Futures: Young Women’s Outreach Program. This program is structured as a series of workshops to help young women build confidence and learn how to make positive choices in all aspects of their lives, including in relationships, education and in gaining economic independence. These workshops also include a Leadership Program and Mentoring Program, encouraging the participants to share their knowledge and skills with the community. With the seed grant, the Scarborough Women’s Centre will expand the program to include a workshop about Healthy Bodies and Healthy Minds. This new workshop will include and hour of physical activity, as well as discussion and education about exercise and healthy food choices. The funds will support development of the new program, supplies and snacks.

AppleTree Markets Group in partnership with Toronto Green Community received $2000 to develop the Sustainable Schools program. This program has already been run in Toronto, but the new seed grant allows Sustainable Schoolsto expand to schools that lack the funding to cover associated costs. AppleTree Markets Group help children to learn about healthy, local food, and will plan, launch and run their own food-based organization. The students will develop leadership, project management and entrepreneurial skills as they learn about where food comes from and building responsible communities. The seed grant will be used to cover market insurance, educational workshops, signage and decorations.