We have a couple of things to catch you up on…the biggest one being NOISE Pod Pitch 2013!
Last Monday, December 9th, all of our pods took the stage in front of family, friends, community partners and peers to present their plans for social action in the Jane and Finch community. The event was very well attended- it was especially great to see so many parents/guardians, siblings and extended family in the audience. Representatives from Emery, C.W. Jefferys, the TD Community Engagement Centre, SWAG students from Emery & United Way Toronto were all there to support the presentations. Also, members of ACT for Youth and York’s School of Social Work joined in the celebrations. It is such a busy time of year- we really appreciated that so many were able to attend. Thank you!
Jorge Caxaj, one of the facilitators from the Summer Learning Retreat, was the MC for the evening. He did a wonderful job of keeping us on track and on time.
Each pod took the stage and had 5 minutes to pitch their social action project to the audience. After the five minute mark a bell would sound and it was the audience’s turn to talk! Individuals asked about how pods intended to measure impact, how they were going to partner with other agencies, what resources they might need…and much, much more! After the first four pitches, we shared a meal and then reconvened for the final four presentations.
The following Social Action Projects were unveiled:
Pod 8 S.E.E.D: Community Meet N’ Greet- connecting newcomers with existing services and resources
Pod 7 SMFC: Project I Belong- community documentary/ media project
Pod 6 WTF: A Sexual Assault Awareness project
Pod 5 5 Alive: Healthy Youth Initiative
Pod 4 DREAM: A Smile Goes a Long Way- providing material supports to those facing homelessness
Pod 3 SQUAD: Winter Fair to create feelings of belonging at Emery and also raise funds for local social service agency
Pod 2 LOUD & Pod 1 Vitality (collaborative approach to social action project): Move for Change- building on and extending Emery CI School Talent Show.
The night ended with an exciting round of ‘Minute to Win it’ challenges (cup stacking balloon game, a puzzle, balancing dice, balloon relay- congrats to SM4C on their win!) and a celebratory cake.
All of the pods deserve another round of applause. It took a lot of hard work, research and planning to reach this milestone. Well done pods! We’ll post more photos soon.
Project Update
The Pod Pitch had kept us pretty occupied up until last week but we also managed to squeeze in a little bit of extra fun 🙂
On Sunday, December 1st, a group of NOISE Fellows attended a Raptors game. Toronto was playing Denver and NOISE was very lucky to be watching from a suite!
On Saturday, December 7th, some NOISE Fellows attended Much Music’s Big Jingle Concert .
The line up included Serena Ryder, Hedley, Fall Out Boy, Fefe Dobson and many more. Some of our group were even lucky enough to slip back stage! This event was a fund raiser for RE*Generation, an organization that “aims to empower a generation to help its own and provide a national platform to discuss issues affecting at-risk and homeless youth”.
Finally, on Friday December 13th, NOISE attended ANOTHER Raptors game! This time we saw the Philadelphia game from another suite! Again, we have Kids Up Front to thank for all of these amazing opportunities!
The pod meetings have ended for the semester and the NOISE team is taking a bit of time to do some planning and preparation for the next semester. Hard to believe it’s almost 2014- time flies when you are having fun!!!
Upcoming Events
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Tuesday, January 7th @ 11:00 is the next GA & Seneca Intern Meeting in Rm 822
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Thursday, January 9th @ 1:00 is the next BSW Fellow Meeting in Rm 822
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Pod meetings begin the week of January 13th, same times and locations as the fall semester.
To conclude this update, I want to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season and New Year. Many of our NOISE community are in the midst of graduate school applications and scholarship proposals, best of luck to all! Looking forward to reconnecting with all of you next semester.
~Jen