Our Program
Success Stories
Carey’s Story
Shanika’s Story
Gajan’s Story
Scott’s Story
Zhai’s Story
Erica’s Story
Carey’s Story
I grew up in Toronto’s Jane-Finch corridor, arguably one of the toughest neighbourhoods in the city, where negative influences abound and threaten the successful development of youth. While my family life was stable and my parents were supportive and encouraging, not all my friends had that stability at home. Many of them were lured down the wrong paths and made poor choices that affect their lives to this day.
kids.now helped set me on the right path
In 1999, I had the opportunity to participate in the kids.now pilot program at my elementary school. I saw right way that this program was different. It focused on skills you don’t have the opportunity to learn anywhere else in a formal way – skills such as stress-management, conflict resolution, effective communication, and most importantly, goal setting.
Although I always thought I would complete high school and go on to college or university, I didn’t really know or even think about how I was going to get there, or what I wanted to do when I did. The kids.now program and my mentor, Janet King, the President and Founder of kids.now, helped set me on the right path by encouraging me to set goals and understand the steps I needed to take to accomplish them. While the goals I set for myself turned out slightly different than I planned at the age of 13, I credit the kids.now program with helping me develop a “forward thinking” mentality early on, that contributed to both my academic and professional success. kids.now helped get me where I am today.
Now I’m on the road to success
In 2009, I completed my commerce and finance degree at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and have recently started my own business, Product Intelligence Inc., which provides financial analysis and risk assessments to alternative investment groups. I’m also an officer and shareholder of a commercial real estate investment company, and recently accepted a junior management role in BMO Financial Group’s corporate real estate division.
My participation in the kids.now program also laid the foundation for my strong commitment to supporting community and youth development. In recent years, I have assumed two executive Board positions with the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), the largest student-run organization in the world, and helped initiate the Toronto Youth Legacy Program to encourage high school students to pursue technical career fields. As an executive of the Black Business and Professional Association (BBPA) Leaders of Tomorrow Organizing Committee, I engaged in the planning and hosting of the annual Leaders of Tomorrow Conference, which included 300 high school students and over 30 corporate executives.
Recently, I reconnected with kids.now to say thanks and find out how I could give back to an organization that had given me so much at a critical period in my life. I’ve agreed to help recruit potential kids.now volunteer mentors from my network to provide more kids with positive role models and the skills and direction they need to do great things with their lives.
Shanika’s Story
As a former participant of the kids.now program, I experienced firsthand the advantage of having a mentor who was a positive role model and helped me develop the skills I needed to succeed. As a university student with a dream of becoming a teacher and being a youth mentor myself, I realize now how privileged I was to be a part of kids.now, and how vital a mentor is to a young person.
I gained the confidence I needed to try
I was in grade 8 when I took the kids.now program. Jennifer, my kids.now mentor showed us what we were capable of accomplishing in life, and guided us to make positive decisions. She was amazing. She created a safe environment where we were comfortable talking about real issues we were dealing with. Jennifer wasn’t about giving us the answers, she simply made us think about what we were truly capable of. She gave us the confidence we needed to try, and as a result, to this day, I push myself harder to give 110% to everything I do.
The kids.now program helped me think about what I wanted for my future while I was still young. The program helped me set short- and long-term goals in my life. I am currently in my fourth year at York University in Toronto, studying to become a teacher and I could not have reached this point without the encouragement, support and guidance of my mentor.
Now I’m paying it forward
My experience with the kids.now program left such an impression on me, that I decided I wanted to volunteer for the organization that helped me become who I am today. As soon as I turned the eligible age of 21, I applied to become a kids.now mentor. It’s my way of paying it forward.
I realize I was extremely lucky to have someone there to guide me through, especially at a young age. I can only hope that I can do the same for kids that I mentor through this incredible program.
Gajan’s Story
Coaching, leadership, setting goals, conflict resolution, establishing healthy relationships, and motivation. These are just a few of the many things I learned from kids.now, a life-changing program I was a part of in 2008. I was very fortunate to have an amazing kids.now mentor, Phillipa Mullins. Her presence was just enough to motivate us with her welcoming smile and friendly personality.
Why did I join kids.now? As a grade 8 student, I was always looking to build on my leadership skills and become a better person. This program allowed me to reach my full potential. Over the course of the 12-week program I learned how to coach others. I realized that not everyone copes with problems the same way. I also learned how to set goals and how to stay committed to your goals by practising and working hard.
I learned valuable life lessons
I’ve now moved on to high school and these lessons are coming in very handy. The leadership skills I developed have helped me become a leader in my new school. It is very evident that kids.now provides tools for students like me to be the best they can be. I am always going to cherish the awesome experience that kids.now offered. I am proud to be a kids.now graduate. I hope this wonderful program continues to provide other students with the same benefits it provided me.
We are the leaders of the future and we can start becoming one now! Thank you for this experience — I guarantee you that I will be successful!
Scott’s Story
Before he started the kids.now program Scott* was a good student. He had a solid group of friends, a supportive family, and several hobbies and extracurricular activities that kept him busy. But Scott would not be described as a leader. He was quiet and shy and often kept his thoughts and opinions to himself. He would just follow the crowd so as not to stand out too much.
His mother says she started to see a change in Scott as he progressed through the kids.now program. “I could see he was gaining confidence,” she says. “The kids.now program helped Scott realize he is an individual who can make his own choices, and that he doesn’t need to be so concerned with what others think. It has opened up a whole new world for him.”
Scott agrees. He admits since taking the kids.now program his self-confidence has grown and he has been more willing to try new things, as well as voice his personal opinion more often. He’s also thought more about his future and how he might reach his personal goals, thanks to the kids.now goal-setting module. Now he just needs to decide, will he be a businessman or a professional hockey player, or….both!
*Name and image has been changed for privacy reasons.
Zhai’s Story
When Zhai moved to Canada from China with her parents in May 2009, she had a difficult time fitting in at her new school. She was an ESL student, trying to adapt to a new country, understand a new culture, and make new friends. Not an easy task, especially when she only joined her grade seven class in the last few weeks of the school year. Her teachers say she was very shy and kept to herself.
Zhai admits she felt isolated from her peers before starting the kids.now program in October 2009, where she was given the opportunity to meet and interact with kids outside of a classroom setting.
Today, she is much more sociable and has many friends. Her teachers credit the kids.now program with building Zhai’s self-confidence. She’s now a leader within the school, and even joined the student council in her final term. Zhai’s academic performance also improved so much she made the honour role last December, and again in March. She’s now looking forward to moving on to secondary school next year, armed with a newfound confidence and new skills that will help her reach her full potential in high school and beyond.
Erica’s Story
Erica is a 21-year old classroom assistant at a small private school, and also a kids.now program alumni. She was a participant in the program when she was a grade 7 student, and credits the program, and her kids.now mentor, with helping to lay the foundation for a number of the life-success skills she has today.
For instance, Erica explains that her presentation skills improved as a result of her experience with kids.now. “Prior to taking the program I was very nervous about speaking in front of groups. During the kids.now program, a lot of the activities, such as role-playing and skits, gave me the opportunity to practise standing up in front of people and talking. It helped boost my confidence and improved my communication skills.” Another skill Erica gained from the program is the ability to set goals and follow the correct steps in order to achieve them. “I find I still think of the kids.now S.T.A.M.P. goal-setting acronym when planning future steps, even now as a young adult starting a new career.”
Erica’s experience with kids.now was so positive, she decided to come back as a volunteer kids.now mentor when she turned 21 to give other kids the same good start. “I want to be able to share my experiences and be a role model for kids.” Erica also thinks she continues to benefit from the kids.now program herself, “As a mentor, I can continue to boost my self-confidence, by trying something new. I also think that as a kids.now mentor I will continue to improve my leadership skills.”