Lyndsay, Toronto ON

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"The Running and Reading program is my weekly dose of gratitude and purpose." 

I began volunteering with Start2Finish in the Lord Dufferin Running & Reading program in January 2018. I heard about the program from Paul Huyer, a running teammate, and one of the lead coaches for the program at Lord Dufferin. 

It was my love for running that fuelled my interest in participating in the Running & Reading Club. A few years ago, I was looking to join a boot camp in my neighbourhood and came across a group while walking my dog that turned out to be a running club. Soon I was hooked. Not only to the physical and mental benefits running brings me but also to the people in the group and Toronto's running community that welcomes everyone and gives back to charitable causes. 

In addition to the running aspects, I was drawn to an opportunity where I could spend time with kids in the community and share my experiences. I work in Marketing for a charitable organization that leads research initiatives and supports local social services and programs in the community. While I'm proud of the work I do, and it feels good to know my efforts contribute to an important cause, volunteering at Start2Finish is an additional outlet.  At the Running & Reading Club, I get to experience first hand the development and improvement made possible when resources and diverse skill-sets of committed volunteers work together to make a difference. Each week I leave the program feeling a valuable sense of purpose and accomplishment.

The most significant impact volunteering with S2F has had on me is my improved sense of self, confidence and gratefulness for my challenges and the access to opportunities I've had to manage and learn from them. I challenge my fear of public speaking every time I lead an activity or "word of the day." I develop my ability to listen and build relationships with young people so that they hear me and consider thinking or behaving differently. Finally, I learn about leadership, patience, and how to model resiliency from my fellow coaches. 

I see myself and loved ones in the kids through their smiles, insecurities and frustrations. Through the program, I realized that it not only allows volunteers to share knowledge and experience with kids; it also allows the kids to do the same for their peers. I've seen students show empathy and support toward another who is struggling to read or try something new. And I saw pride in the kids at last year's 5K race when the entire school ran the final Lord Dufferin student over the finish line.

 

Land Acknowledgement

We would like to acknowledge the land on which we work, and which Start2Finish operates, is part of the Treaty Lands and Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit. For thousands of years, Indigenous peoples inhabited and cared for this land. In particular, we acknowledge the territory of the Anishinabek, Huron-Wendat, Haudenosaunee and Ojibway/Chippewa peoples; the land that is home to the Metis; and most recently, the territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation who are direct descendants of the Mississaugas of the Credit. We are grateful to have the opportunity to work on this land, and by doing so, give our respect to its first inhabitants.

We welcome you to acknowledge the land you are on https://www.whose.land/fr/

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