Scadding Court Mentorship Program

The Scadding Court Mentorship Program (SCMP) pairs up inner-city children (aged 6-12) with volunteer mentors who are students and alumni from U of T’s Faculty of Medicine. Alumni and students are keen to make a noticeable difference in our local community by supporting the mission of this program to promote positive relationships with children in a high-risk neighborhood. To accomplish these goals, volunteers and children team up to engage in a variety of physical, educational, and professional endeavors that bring out lots of laughter and fun. Some examples of activities enjoyed by volunteers and students from previous years include: hands-on science programs at the Ontario Science Centre, and culture-promoting field trips to sites in the city like the Gardiner Museum. The SCMP runs annually from November to April and consists of approximately 20 two-hour mentorship sessions at the Scadding Court Community Centre 707 Dundas Street West, Toronto, Ontario (Bathurst & Dundas). The growth of this program has gathered tremendous attention from children and families within the community, allowing it to be recognized as a pinnacle initiative with the community center. Due to its popularity, children actively enroll in the program to gain access to mentors and experiences that would not be available due to their current financial or family situations. The structure of the program is as follows: two mentors are assigned to a mentee based on common interests (i.e., in arts, sports, science, etc.). Mentors and mentees meet weekly on Saturday for two hours and participate in the scheduled activity (activity schedule is provided at the start of the program).