Turning young people from 'educated' to 'educators'

One afternoon, two youth living in Regent Park met in a Tim Hortons to bounce around an idea. One had taken notice of his brother teaching his mother English language skills. He was shocked by how patient and clear his brother was, and equally important, how quickly his mother was picking up the language. It wasn’t as though she hadn’t tried before; like so many newcomer adults, she attended local English as a Second Language programs but often felt lost because of the quick delivery of concepts, the facilitators’ inability to speak their students’ native languages, and the cultural gap. But in the safety of their homes, these same adults prospered, quickly picking up concepts from their children.

With this in mind, those two youth galvanized other young people in the area and, in less than two weeks, independently developed a curriculum, secured a local program space, enlisted countless participants, and launched a program called Youth Empowering Parents (YEP).

Since then, the program has flourished. It has grown to over 80 locations across 5 countries, impacting thousands of people. Young people, ages 9 and up, volunteer to teach English, technology, musical instruments, financial literacy, health and physical activity, environmental skills, and many other day-to-day life skills. Tens of thousands of “at-risk youth” have collectively delivered over $3 million in private tutoring value, whilst simultaneously improving their communication, leadership, empathy, and professional skills.

YEP has been recognized by several media outlets across the world, and has received distinguished awards, including an innovation award from the United Nations (personally delivered by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon).

Organizational mentorship

YEP supports local grassroots organizations who are working to improve the lives Black and Indigenous persons. You can also make a donation directly to support either of these grassroots initiatives.

Developing Black Educators (DBE) is a grassroots group aiming to inspire an increase of black students into the education profession, and cultivating their success. More than 50% of the public school student population is nonwhite, but less than 20% of teachers are racialized. Importantly, there has been a decline in the number of black teachers over the past decade. DBE provides coaching and one-on-one training to black high-school and post-secondary students, with a goal of developing more black educators and black role models for the future generation of black students. 

little sister (also known as lil sis) is an artist platform for QTBIPOC + BIPOC youth (Queer, Trans+, Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) and works to provide a range of supports aimed at building sustainable and gainful career paths in the arts and entertainment industries. This platform provides professional guidance and mentorship through monthly open mics in Toronto's Regent Park neighbourhood, as well as educational workshops ranging from financial literacy in the arts to dealing with microaggressions in the entertainment industry. little sister is a peer and youth led grassroots group. In 2018, little sister conducted research on QTBIPOC youth artists in Toronto (to be released in 2020).