UPDATES
December 2019: Check out this highlight reel from the 2019 S4C season!
July 2019: Basketball comes to S4C!
Click here to read our blog about the upcoming 3-on-3 Youth Basketball Tournament, Above the Rim, July 28, 2019
Project Description
Sport for Change (S4C) is a community development initiative designed by the Mathare Youth Sports Association model in Nairobi, Kenya, that has been nominated twice for the Nobel Peace prize. The model promotes safe, inclusive, anti-barrier and free play, which is linked to community engagement by motivating players through a system of competitive team points for both their activity on the field or sports court AND off the field bettering the community.
East Scarborough Storefront (The Storefront) has successfully adapted and implemented S4C as a pilot project in the community of Kingston Galloway/Orton Park (KGO), where existing safe recreational and social spaces are not easily accessible, often crowded and, in some cases, expensive.
Reinforcing the value of their diversities, Storefront staff support participants to pursue community-building activities as they build up their bodies and minds through play. S4C empowers participants to identify barriers that may hinder their advancement and equips them with the resources they need to access a variety of vital opportunities.
The History
Major Events
Feet in Motion - 2017 and 2018
What is Feet in Motion?
In summer 2017, a group of KGO residents set out to organize a “little” soccer tournament. The result? That “little” tournament attracted 250 youth aged 16-24 from all over the province! That success inspired residents to organize another tournament in 2018, this time building in an employment services focus.
“Feet in Motion 2018” took place on October 6th, 2018 at The Valley at University of Toronto Scarborough.
Fifteen Youth Ambassadors co-created the event with support from The Storefront. The Ambassadors:
- Learned about employment services, programs and approaches currently available in the area.
- Connected with at least 10 youth-based employment service providers and/or youth-friendly employers and potential mentors who participated in the event.
- Received mentoring and support to organize a soccer tournament.
- Worked with an evaluation professional to design a mechanism to collect feedback, assess current use of services and programs and interest in future opportunities.
- Provided information to employment service providers on what youth need to succeed.
What are the impacts of Feet in Motion?
Have a look at the Impact Infographic we prepared after the 2018 event.
Increased Community Well-Being: 150 young people got regular exercise and connection to community all summer long in preparation for the soccer tournaments.
Increased Community Knowledge - Ambassadors and Tournament organizers received training in technical aspects of sports, coaching, community development, event planning, evaluation and leadership. Increased knowledge increases confidence. Both are important for applying to future jobs or seeking career advancement.
A foundation for Increased Community Wealth - 150 participants assessed their own skills and interests, explored employment and training opportunities, learned more about employment services and supports, and provided feedback to inform and influence employment service providers to adapt their offerings to better serve the community.
KGO Sports Day Community Coaches Training Soccer Clinic
Outcomes
Outcomes
Outcomes - Story
Young people are being active, growing, and are bettering their community through play
Gobal, a very shy Nepali boy, was initially uncomfortable talking to people outside of his tight-knit cultural community, but through his involvement with Sport for Change, he has developed friendships with a diverse group of young people and has built up tremendous self-confidence.
In Summer 2017, kids from the youth soccer team expressed a desire to compete with teams from other communities. Our staff supported residents in planning the tournament by helped them access the resources they needed: he introduced them to people at University of Toronto Scarborough so they could negotiate the use of the soccer field, he helped them secure a sound system and helped them access a meeting place to plan the tournament. But they did the work and made the tournament happen!
Fifteen teams came- that’s nearly 250 players - from all over the province. The tournament was so unique that it attracted the support of the Scarborough Soccer Association and the Scarborough Referees Association, whose members provided volunteer referees to officiate the tournament. The kids got to compete with other teams, had a great time at the tournament, and residents were proud of their accomplishments in getting it organized and attracting such tremendous interest!
And, another really amazing thing happened…
Scarborough’s Wexford Soccer Club is well known in soccer circles for its elite competitive soccer program that draws the attention of scouts from Major League Soccer. MLS includes Toronto F.C. and Montreal Impact. Recently, one of Wexford’s players was invited to play for Manchester F.C. in England!
A Storefront staff member, along with a dedicated group of five residents organized a friendly match between our KGO Team and a Wexford team. While KGO didn’t win, they played hard, losing by just one point at 7-6. The really amazing thing: our very own once-shy boy, Gobal caught the eye of the Wexford coaches and has been given a full scholarship to take an Advanced Goalkeeping Skills course through the Dynamo Elite Athletics Competitive Program, and to play with the Wexford Soccer Club.
Gobal’s story and the Summer 2017 Tournament are examples of the kinds of amazing things that can happen when we create opportunities for residents to thrive, and use the momentum of sport, which already exists in the community.