Fil-Can youth, Kapisanan need you this holiday season

Fil-Can youth, Kapisanan need you this holiday season

Participants of the pilot of NAVIGATION, Kapisanan Centre’s arts mentorship program for young men ages 17-24.

TORONTO–Kapisanan Philippine Centre for Arts and Culture is celebrating its tenth year of inspiring, engaging and giving Filipino-Canadian youth a voice, by launching their first ever online fundraising campaign, that is for not disaster relief. The #SupportK campaign, tied with the launch of a new website, rebranding, and Kapisanan’s 10 year anniversary, seeks help from the GTA community and abroad to raise $15,000 by December 31, 2014. Funds raised will support the organization in its mission to empower Filipino-Canadian youth right here in the GTA, to reach their fullest potential.

Funds raised will provide direct investment to Kapisanan’s mentorship and cultural programming in 2015, helping young Filipino-Canadians cultivate an enriched sense of community, and a more visible presence and contribution toward the broader Canadian community. Investments will also be made to support efforts to scale out the ‘K Mobile Program,’ Kapisanan’s innovative youth programming delivered in elementary and high schools across the GTA with high Filipino student populations.

“We are really excited for this first major online fundraising campaign. It is an opportunity for our large and growing local Filipino community, to give to our youth in need, right here in Toronto, in a way that is tangible,” said Caroline Mangosing, executive director of Kapisanan. “Supporting Kapisanan, the only youth-led Filipino-Canadian organization in the GTA, means helping the next generation achieve greater heights.”

Statistics show that Filipino youth “face barriers that exhibit a troubling pattern leading to poorer outcomes and less upward mobility than that of the children of Canadian immigrants from many other backgrounds.” For more than a decade, Kapisanan has provided both Canadian-born and newcomer Filipino youth positive and relatable role models, mentors, and a supportive community of peers, so they can explore their culture and heritage–leading to new, positive views on their personal lives and more confidence in pursuing opportunities that will impact their future.

Kapisanan is a federally registered charity. To learn more about ways to support and to make a donation, visit kapisanancentre.com/donate.

(PRESS RELEASE)