This is why we are committed to supporting a variety of charities and community organizations whose important work reflects our values. We contribute a small donation from every one of our speaker bookings. Below are the organizations we are actively working with now or have supported in the past.

Red Cross Ukraine Emergency Appeal

Given the devastating situation in Ukraine, we are currently making donations in support of the Red Cross Ukraine Emergency Appeal to help provide vital aid to the people of Ukraine during this difficult time. Every day, volunteers and staff of the Ukrainian Red Cross travel to different parts of the country to support people who have found themselves in difficult living conditions or are suffering from emergency situations.

donate.redcrossredcrescent.org/ua/donate

National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation is a place of learning and dialogue where the truths of the residential school experience will be honoured and kept safe for future generations. They are committed to facing the painful truths of our history and present in order to move forward on the path to reconciliation. We are committed to supporting survivors and honouring the many children who never made it home.

nctr.ca

Kids Help Phone

We’ve partnered with Kids Help Phone, Canada’s only 24/7 national support service offering professional counselling, information and referrals, and volunteer-led, text-based support to young people in any moment of crisis or need.

Since 1989, they’ve provided kids, teens, and young adults with a critical lifeline of hope and support through their free, anonymous service, and are recognized as a Canadian and world leader.

We’re proud to support their vision to create a future where every young person in Canada can access the support they need, in the way they need it.

kidshelpphone.ca 

Giants of Africa

Giants of Africa travels the African continent conducting basketball camps for boys and girls, building courts, and facilitating outreach initiatives to empower youth throughout Africa.

Their mission is to use basketball as a means to educate and enrich the lives of African youth across the diaspora through education on and off the court.

https://giantsofafrica.org/

Tropicana Community Services

Tropicana Community Services offers culturally aware and supportive programs to those in need, including but not limited to counselling, settlement services, childcare, education, personal development, and employment services, with a focus on serving Caribbean, Black, and African communities of Toronto.

https://tropicanacommunity.org/

The Black Health Alliance

The Black Health Alliance is a community-led registered charity working to improve the health and well-being of Black communities in Canada. Their mission is to reduce the radical disparities in healthcare.  Driven by ground-breaking research, strong partnerships, and people, this movement strives to build innovative solutions, and mobilize people and financial resources to create lasting change in the lives of Black children, families, and communities.

blackhealthalliance.ca

Pathways to Education Canada

Pathways to Education Canada seeks to reduce poverty and its effects by lowering the high school dropout rate and increasing access to post-secondary education among disadvantaged youth in Canada.

The Pathways program provides four key supports: academic, social, financial, and advocacy. We have set up a scholarship fund to help students graduate from high school and enable them to continue their post-secondary education.

pathwaystoeducation.ca

charity: water

Nearly 800 million people around the world do not have access to clean drinking water. Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation causes 80% of diseases and kills more people every year than all forms of violence, including war.

charity: water is a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to the people who need it. They have funded more than 91,000 water projects in 29 countries, providing more than 14,700,000 people with access to clean, safe drinking water.

In January 2013, we sponsored a water project in India, where approximately 100,000,000 people lack clean water. 

charitywater.org

Jacob’s Ladder

In 2014, we joined forces with the grassroots charity, Jacob’s Ladder, The Canadian Foundation for Control of Neurodegenerative Disease. It aims to reduce the occurrence of neurodegenerative disease in children by funding research into diseases such as Autism, Rette’s Syndrome, epilepsy, and Gaucher’s Disease. Their work has also made it possible for both women and men to be screened for a wide variety of genetic disorders.

Ellen and Jeff Schwartz started this charity in their son Jacob’s honour after he was diagnosed with Canavan disease, a rare, fatal, and progressive illness. Through their sheer will, hard work, and determination, their small family-run charity began to grow as they were joined by dedicated business and community leaders, doctors, researchers, and concerned parents. Now millions in funding have been raised and great strides are being made.

jacobsladder.ca

Kiva.org

In 2008, we partnered with Kiva.org, the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending website, which empowers individuals to lend directly to an entrepreneur in the developing world.

By combining microfinance with the internet, Kiva.org is creating a global community of people connected through lending to alleviate poverty. To date, we have made loans through Kiva to nearly 3,500 entrepreneurs in the developing world.

kiva.org

Regent Park School of Music

In 2016, we partnered with the Regent Park School of Music (RPSM), a non-profit Toronto-community music school whose goal is to provide cost-free or subsidized music education to as many youth as possible.

For over 20 years, the school has seen that the study of music allows young people to flourish creatively, personally, and academically, and enriches their lives and future prospects. Their students have access to over 70 dedicated music teachers and an array of musical options and instruments. RPSM also offers countless leadership opportunities through their Youth Committee and mentorship programs. 

In addition to bringing music to kids in Regent Park and Jane Finch, RPSM also gives music education to Indigenous students at Wandering Spirit School and young newcomers to Canada. 

rpmusic.org