A Backyard Adventure For The Kids by Erica Brown

  This Wednesday June 15th, Toronto’s elite showed some serious support for at-risk youth, as Serve! held their annual Serve! Stock Festival.

  In support of at risk youth, Serve! Stock featured Canadian talents Royal Wood, Sarah Slean, Ash Koley, and of course the organization’s long time supporters, The Barenaked Ladies.

  Held on a makeshift backyard stage, the concert - complete with raffles, silent auctions, and delicious food - raised funds to help more than 100 struggling young people in the daily battle against poverty, homelessness, and other chronic issues.

Indie rockers Ash Koley performed an energetic set of originals and covers

  We had the chance to interview Executive Director Alison Caird, and actress Tara Spencer Nairn about how they got involved with such a fantastic cause, what causes they were most passionate about, and why Serve! is such a great organization. 

  Executive Director Alison Caird, who has been with Serve! for over two years, hopes to raise one hundred thousand dollars from this event, and says that some of it will be used to pay for essential administrative and operational costs; but that most of it will go towards supporting programming and courses aimed at morale-building, skills acquisition, furthering education and providing opportunities to advance in the workplace.

  Caird explains that there are two types of programming Serve! provides. One is geared towards youth ages 13-16, and the other ages 17-24.

  “It’s a very complex model because youth problems are so intricate. The model or approach that we take is very holistic but also tailored, and very comprehensive.” The program runs for six months while the youth are out of work or out of school, and together they do many community service tasks.

  Caird had first-hand experience with the organization before becoming involved with Serve! as she had the opportunity to see workers from the program in action while working at a local hospital. Years later when the Executive Director position came open she remembered those kids and knew that she wanted to devote her life to helping them.

  Alison says that despite the economy in Canada at the moment, she believes that people are slowly becoming educated to the issue of youth at risk, especially in larger cities such as Toronto. “We really live it, and see it in Toronto, and I think that people are starting to understand.”

  However she questions “Do people fully understand the issues of poverty and crime? If you don’t get at the root issues, kids have few choices when they’re un-employed.” Says Caird.

  “There’s some movement but we’re not there yet.”

  The event itself was hosted in a private Forest Hill backyard in a neighbourhood that is home to some of Toronto’s most wealthy residents, and the contrast between these benefactors and the young lives they hoped to improve could not be greater, but there was a tremendous spirit of giving and care evident during the evening.

Original Montreal Canadiens jersey signed by Jean Beliveau up for auction

  The event featured many items of memorabilia up for auction, and corporate sponsors, including Flare Magazine, Licks, CTV, GE Profile, Eska, Elizabeth Grant, Tag No 5 Vodka, Admar, Warner Brothers, Labatt, Jackson Triggs, Stella Artois and State Street were plentiful.

The food from L-eat Caterer’s was fantastic, and the bands, playing in a stripped down acoustic style, were certainly energetic.  

The home owners and planners of the event even made the time to make sure that the large screen TV’s on the patio were intact to play the Stanley Cup final game.

  Performers on the stage received enthusiastic applause, but the evening was especially poignant for the talk Serve! Canada member Kevin gave as he explained his personal story.

  Kevin told the audience that he grew up in a low income family where he would often hear gun shots just next door. He found out that he had ADHD, a learning disability, and Bi-Polar (a mood disorder). However, one day a friend from his basketball club informed him about Serve!, and how it would benefit him.

  Kevin did a lot of team-building experiences with Serve!, and has been a member ever since. One day while leading a Nintendo Wii Fitness Program for seniors, he realized that his passion was to help aid and care for seniors.

  What really touched me was that he has just his first year towards his college diploma as Personal Care Worker, something that would have been very difficult for someone in his position to do without the intervention of an organization like Serve!

  Actress Tara Spencer-Nairn says that she was inspired to become a part of Serve! Stock 2011, by hearing the empowering story of another kid from the youth program last year.

  Tara says that a lot of the people in the garden were brought to tears by this young girls experience and what Serve! did for her. When asked how she thought Serve 2011 was doing she replied: “I think that this festival’s going really well so far ...” and with a laugh, “ ... I hope people leave with empty wallets at the end of the day.”

  Despite all the many causes she supports, youth programs are most certainly important . “You can’t help but want to help” the enthusiastic pregnant star says with a large smile.

  All and all, the people who came out to support this great cause certainly believe children are our future, and showed their support in a very generous and tangible way!

All text and Imagery is copyright Torontowide.com.
All Rights reserved.
Photos taken with the Olympus EPL-2 with mZuiko 14-150mm
and mZuiko 9-18mm lenses