Help fund the Youth Innovation & Cultural Centre

Double your donation, 1:1 Match
For every dollar donated through this fundraiser, I can request my employer to match the donation up to $10,000, which will double the impact to $20,000!

During these unprecedented times, if you are in a fortunate position and are able to give, please contribute to the fundraiser to support the most vulnerable in our communities to double your impact. Thank you!

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Will tax receipts be issued for donating via this GoFundMe fundraiser?

Tax receipts will NOT be issued to you directly through this page. If you wish to receive a tax receipt, please contact Masooma at [email redacted] after you have donated. Tax receipts will be issued once the fundraiser is closed.

Can you verify that you are an employee of this company?
Linkedin Profile 

Can you verify that this company is matching donations 1:1 for employees up to $10k?
Please see blog post  from Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google. Last paragraph confirms the employee match. 

Why cannot you request a gift match if someone donates directly to the charity?
The donations have to be fund-raised and donated via an employee to be eligible for the 1:1 gift match of up to $10k

Campaign ends: December 27th 

 

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What is the MAAT Youth Innovation & Cultural Centre? 

The MAAT Centre is a place where youth ages 13 – 29 years can test their boundaries and explore their creativity. We aim to create a youth centre focused on nurturing the infinite potential of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) youth. We offer youth residing in East Scarborough a space dedicated to them; with an array of possibilities for integration into academics, career, family, and social life. The Centre provides opportunities for development and economic growth, through a broad range of personal and professional programs spanning academics, life skills, employment, advocacy, entrepreneurship, peace and conflict prevention, among others.

 

Why do we need to fundraise for MAAT and what does this mean to the youth in the East Scarborough area?

For East Scarborough, the biggest barrier is that of systemic discrimination that is reflected in poverty/ low socioeconomic status, low educational attainment and achievement of racialized youth. Racialized youth face ongoing effects of trauma (mental health, experienced racism, substance abuse and childhood) that pose as barriers to development.

 

Through this centre, we hope to:

• Provide access to youth who are isolated, NEET, otherwise disengaged

• Become routes to employment, training and professional mentorship

• Offer space for artistic and cultural production

• Provide access to resources (Wi-Fi, computers, food, workspace, books, etc.)

• Create space that is conducive to quiet study and academic support

• Develop Youth Entrepreneurship with large access to spaces for directions to business start-up, ideation, funding applications and mentorship