East York Strategy has been supporting kids in the community with free programs for two decades

By LI HO

Hundreds of young people pass through the cheerful blue front doors of Bethany Baptist Church in East York each year looking for a place to belong. 

Located at the corner of Pape and Cosburn avenues, the church has been the home of East York Strategy, an inclusive community engagement program providing multifaceted support to countless kids and their families for almost 20 years. 

The idea for forming East York Strategy first came to Rev. Jim Parker, the pastor of Bethany, in 2005.

It was a year the media and police in Toronto dubbed the “Year of the Gun” for the number of gun-related homicides in the city.

Parker knew he wanted to do his part to address rising crime among youth. “If I was going to be a minister, I wanted to make the world a better place,” he said.

To do this, he modelled East York Strategy after a successful program that ran in Etobicoke at that time known as Etobicoke Strategy. The goal of the initiative was to connect youth with positive role models in their community through free programs.

Alongside the co-leadership of Rev. Alex Bisset, Parker has grown East York Strategy to include volleyball and basketball leagues, drop-in programs and a summer camp, all of which come at no cost to families. 

Access is important to them because “there are programs out there that you can put your kids in if you have the money to do that,” said Bisset, something not all families can afford to do.

“I think it’s great to have a program that brings kids of all economic, cultural and social backgrounds together.”

Parker believes strongly in being welcoming and inclusive. “You don’t have to be a part of the church to be a part of the program. This is for everybody.” 

The East York Strategy puts the focus on engaging middle school-aged students – those in grades 6, 7 and 8 – so that by the time these students reach high school, “they know us,” said Parker.

“They know that we respect everybody. It’s a fun, positive place with older youth giving back to their community.”

This is a sentiment echoed by Kelly Emond, a mother whose two older daughters attend the middle school volleyball league. “It’s an extremely positive environment. It’s all about supporting each other, encouraging each other, and just being there for each other. It’s not about being competitive and winning. It’s more.”

Emond is especially appreciative of the recognition the leaders give to the kids and the effort put into the awards ceremony at the end of the volleyball season. “You see how much the community comes together.”

One of the East York Strategy’s core goals is mentorship. “They move up the ladder, from player to coach, from camper to junior leader at day camp, from volunteering to maybe being hired on as staff and getting paid to work with us,” explained Bisset. “Almost all of our coaches and leaders were kids who attended and moved up.”

For the high school youth volunteering in the sports leagues, Bisset feels that they “really gain something from interacting with middle school youth whether it’s a conversation on the bench about how life is going” or conversations on the court.

Emond’s eldest daughter already has her sights set on returning as a volunteer coach when she reaches high school. “They are definitely steering kids in the right direction,” said Emond. 

According to Bisset, many of the youth have no work or volunteer experience other than with the East York Strategy. With a resume in hand, Bisset and Parker will interview them, offering them a glimpse of what to expect. For many, “it’s the first time they’ve ever been in an interview, and that’s a really cool experience.” 

Whether that interview leads to being hired on as staff or volunteer, or the teens land a job at a restaurant nearby, Bisset and Parker make it clear that they are there for them.

“If they need a reference, we’re their reference,” said Bisset, ensuring that the teens get off to a good start.

Every summer, Parker runs Camp YOLO (Youth Overcoming Life’s Obstacles), a six-week-long summer camp serving kids from grades 4 to 8. Attendance rose to more than 90 kids this summer – a record high and threefold increase from the first camp in 2012. 

“In our drop-in and free summer camp, if demand is there from the youth, we do everything we can to accommodate the kids,” said Parker. “That is our challenge.” 

A challenge, no doubt, that they have been committed to meeting every year. One of the ways they do so is to run Pie Day, an all-hands-on-deck fundraising event where they sell homemade pies. This past spring, demand was overwhelming and 363 pies were baked onsite, with many youth pitching in to peel apples and box the pies. 

The money raised supplements federal funding. In addition, “when people donate, it’s very, very helpful,” said Parker. Extra funds allow them to pay an honorarium to the staff for the after-school drop-in. 

“I think it’s very hard to be a young person these days, navigating immigration, cultural or financial issues. There’s a lot for young people to try to deal with,” said Parker. “That’s why we try to make East York Strategy a safe place to come.”

“On the one hand, you are more connected thanks to social media, more connected than I was as a kid in the 1980s, but at the same time, there aren’t the logical places where you really connect with other kids or other people,” said Bisset. “That’s something we provide to break down a bit of the isolation.” 

“Those who are familiar with youth work know it’s about showing up,” added Parker. “If you’re there, they respond.”

For more information, please contact Rev. Jim Parker at bethanychurchtoronto@gmail.com. 

To learn more about East York Strategy or to donate, please go to https://www.eastyorkstrategy.com/