Freelance Rhythm

The initiative held two 10-day camps for youth in Jamestown and Jane Finch.  24 youth in total participated in workshops in African dance, drum, song and poetry. At the camps, youth also increased their awareness and skills of environmental issues, such as how to run a recycling program, gardening and community beautification. During the camps, youth delivered a snack program, organized a community arts performance for parents as well as attended 8 experiential field trips, i.e. rock climbing, canoeing, Native centre, AfroFest. Both staff and participants have developed skills in leadership, communication, public speaking, self expression, cultural sensitivity and conflict resolution.

The initiative has helped establish trust and dissolve existing boundaries between youth from Jane Finch and Jamestown. Youth have also begun to introduce the environmental programs they learned at the Freelance Rhythm camp into their apartment buildings and schools. The initiative has been selected as a participant in the For Youth Initiative (FYI) Legacy initiative, which will give them an opportunity to be strengthen their organizational capacity through a mentorship placement with FYI. As a mentee, they will also be able to access funding for programming.