Making Change SC

Making Change is bringing back "Canvas For Change" for 2025. To register your teen youth who has a passion for art for this incredible and free opportunity, visit: https://lnkd.in/g4-a6mns Making Change is excited to renew its partnership with MacLaren Art Centre to offer a special art program geared to creative youth across Simcoe County! In recognition of Black History Month, Black youth ages 13 to 18 are invited to participate in a series of workshops to create a unique work of art—under the guidance of an artist mentor, Ashante Blackwood. The program aims to celebrate the artistic talents of creative Black youth who use art to amplify their voices. In a series of workshops scheduled for December and January, Ashante Blackwood will guide youth in conceptualizing, communicating, and visually representing ideas that will illuminate their unique perspectives and stories, sparking important conversations within the community. In February 2025, the artwork created by participating youth will be part of a group exhibition at the MacLaren Art Centre. An opening reception is planned for the evening of Friday, February 7, at the MacLaren. All are welcome! Admission: FREE, materials provided by the MacLaren Art Centre & Making Change Max Capacity: 20 youth participants Ages: 13 to 18 years old

Excited for Vibe & Thrive on Nov 20! Mentorship, food, and fun await! #EmpowerYouth #VibeAndThrive https://conta.cc/3OgdEh7

SAVE THE DATE! Free event coming November 20th to Barrie featuring amazing celebrity speakers! Geared for Black youth to be inspired Details for Vibe & Thrive event soon to follow

Catch the "Footsteps To Freedom" bus tour interview from Making Change with INFOSimcoe of Rogers TV with Gillian 'Rawberri' Scobie. https://lnkd.in/eVigK2vj Making Change is excited to present: "Footsteps To Freedom—A Local Black History Bus Tour" on Saturday, August 3, in honour of Emancipation Day. A culturally inspired lunch is included. This impactful bus tour features 3 key stops in the learning journey of our local Black history in and around Simcoe County. For more info, visit our website: www.MakingChangeSC.com For tickets, go to the Eventbrite Link: https://lnkd.in/eR9MPWZx

We are excited to see our beloved Board Member Jude St-Fleur off on a new adventure, as his family is moving to Ottawa this summer. It will be sad to see him leave Making Change, but we know his passion for community service and volunteerism will be welcomed and shared with communities out there. Our team had a goodbye dinner to celebrate his year and a half of Making Change. Both he and his family will be dearly missed! #Blackexcellence #volunteering Jude will continue working as an investment/life/insurance broker and has made it his mission to help 1,000 families prosper.

Book your spot on the bus! www.makingchangesc.com

This impactful bus tour features 3 key stops in the learning journey of our local Black history in and around Simcoe County. We begin in Barrie at 9:30 am and travel to the Oro African Church, a restored historical site. A local family descendant will provide an engaging history of the Black settlers who made a home in the surrounding area, but the church brought the community together. The bus tour takes us over to the outskirts of Collingwood to the Sheffield Park Black History & Cultural Museum, where we will meet another family descendant and tour the many small buildings containing artifacts, memorabilia and recreations of the Black settler's early days in the area. A culturally inspired lunch will be served, and a chance to wander the grounds at your own pace. We then return to Barrie but have a short stop at the Bethel Union Cemetery, the first multi-cultural cemetery in Simcoe County. Here lies a beautiful monument to the many Black settlers and slaves who lived and worked in the area. The tour will take us back to Barrie, where we started at approximately 4 pm. There will be toilet facilities at each location and food and water. The Bus Tour travels rain or shine, so please dress for the weather and for walking on uneven ground. Eventbrite for Tickets: https://lnkd.in/eR9MPWZx

Off the Beaten Track—En route to a school for the Art Engagement Project, our artist mentor, Ashante Blackwood, discovered a billboard of her art as part of a national anti-racism campaign. Artists Against Racism is a charity that produces impactful, artist-driven public awareness campaigns nationally. This billboard was on Tiffin St. in Barrie and was discovered by fortuity.

Youth empowerment was the theme for "Take a Stanza", a poetry event held at the Collingwood Public Library last week. We are grateful for the support from Collingwood YMCA and the Town of Collingwood to have brought this event together. Thank you to Ty the Poetess and Jillian Morris, two incredibly passionate Poet Laureates in the County of Simcoe, for sharing their knowledge to inspire young writers who were in attendance.

Making Change was proud to collaborate with the Nantyr Shores Black Student Association to bring these students to the "Brawta—Lunch & Learn" speaker series. Thank you to the Youth United funding program of United Way Simcoe Muskoka for the opportunity. What an amazing group of students who brought in speakers to provide guidance in areas that are important to their lives. Making Change looks forward to continuing to bring these types of programs to our Black youth. Thank you to the Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB) for all their support with this program. #YouthUnited #youthempowerment #representationmatters