Our Team

What is your connection to ICO? I learned about ICO through my church, Christian Centre, where ICO is based. I’ve always admired the work they do in the community, so I was excited to be given an opportunity to join the team.

What is your educational background? BA Psychology from York

What is your favorite program at ICO?

Currently, my favourite program at ICO is the Homework Club. I love the Homework Club because it allows me to connect with so many kids and families in the neighbourhood. I really enjoy helping kids grow intellectually, socially and emotionally. It is so exciting to see a child get better at reading, learn how to express their emotions, or build friendships through the Homework Club.

Why do you love Jane and Finch? I have lived in Jane and Finch for most of my life and I have loved growing up here. All of my friends, family and community are right here in this neighbourhood. I love the cultural diversity of Jane and Finch. In spite of its reputation at times, Jane and Finch is truly such a wonderful community with amazing, hard-working people and families. There is so much beauty in the different people who make up this community. Jane and Finch is my home and I hope to raise my own family here as well! 

Share a memorable ICO moment. One of my favourite memories at ICO so far is when we did a life lesson on Self-Esteem at the Homework Club. We spoke to the children about what self-esteem is, and why it is important to have confidence and love yourself.  Every child drew their own self-portrait. Then, to combat bullying, every child wrote a compliment on each other’s self-portraits. Our Homework Club leaders participated as well. It was so uplifting and beautiful to see the kids build each other up with kind words, and receive each other’s compliments. They were all so excited to see what their friends & leaders had written about them, and it has created a great foundation for helping them to remember to use kind words with each other.

When did you join ICO? I have always been a part of ICO for a long time, but I officially joined ICO September 2021. 

What is your educational background? I graduated from Dante Alighieri High school in 2016. I’m about to finish my Journalism program at Seneca College.

Why do you love Jane and Finch? I love Jane & Finch for many reasons, first off I was born and raised here. So this place holds a very special place in my heart. I see so much beauty in Jane & Finch. All the negative stigmas this community gets is the total opposite from what I see. I see hardworking, trustworthy, great people that are all trying to figure out just like everyone else. There is so much youth in this community that need to be served, because if we don’t do our job by being there, I could only imagine what they would get themselves into. I thank God for placing me in this community, I wouldn’t change the way I grew up for anything! 

Share a memorable ICO moment. One of my favourite memories was my first summer camp here when I found out that my co-worker Bernice was scared of spiders. So one day Bernice told me to kill a spider and after I killed it on a tissue. I then pretended like I was going to make her touch the spider. Her back was on the wall and she started yelling and laughing and then she started to tear up because she was so scared. As the tears started to flow down I figured that I should stop before things got worse. Everybody was laughing and it was a memory that will never be forgotten. 

What is one thing you wished people knew about ICO? I wished people knew that the kids and youth that we’re serving in our program are the future and I pray and hope they can understand why we go so hard for these children in our community. They are children and youth that are at risk; every time they go out they are at risk.

Cats or Dogs? Dogs! I feel like cats do nothing, I can’t be taking care of a free loading animal. LOL

What is your connection to ICO? I know about ICO through Christian Centre Church, which is my home church that I have been attending for over 20 years.

What is your educational background? BA Psychology from York University

What is your favorite program at ICO? I love all the programs here at ICO but the two that really have my heart are the After School Program and Summer Camp. The reason why I love these programs is because of the diverse youth that come and the relationships I get to build with them. Seeing them grow over the period of time spent together is so beautiful to see. Watching them apply what we have taught them in their daily lives is so encouraging and makes me even more motivated to continue doing what I am doing.

Why do you love Jane and Finch? I love Jane and Finch because of its multicultural community. When you come here there is a place for you. You have so many cultures coming together from Nigeria to Iranian to Chinese to Canadian, yet each one stands on its own. The uniqueness of this community is beautiful despite the bad representation it receives in the media, there is always something beautiful that rises out of this community. There is so much resilience in this community, never scared to keep going, and striving to be better.

Share a memorable ICO moment. One of my favourite memories here at ICO was when Nana got chosen to get water poured on him. Instead of just getting the water poured on him, we decided to add flour to it. He did not see it coming at all. One of the funniest and most memorable moments here at ICO.

What is one thing you wished people knew about ICO? One thing I wish people knew about ICO is the deep desire to help empower youth not only to excel in academics but to excel in their daily lives by providing them with resources, skills, life lessons to carry with them in their life journey.

What do you like to do on your spare time? I like to sing and play guitar. I also like to watch tv shows on Netflix specifically baking, cooking and documentaries.