Kids trick or treat dance & safety session at Project XGuard BJJ

Kids trick or treat dance & safety session at the Toronto Libraries

Fun at Our 1st Kid's Trick or Treat Safety Series

By: Sumera Garcia-Quadri

There are more child-pedestrian injuries on Halloween night than on any other holiday night. With that in mind, I thought it would be the perfect time to run an age-appropriate dance and safety series for kids ages 6 to 12. In the past 5 years, our series has focused on getting youth ages 12 to 18 who live in under-resourced areas with high gun violence rates to move more and feel safer as they walk around their neighborhoods and take the transit.

Through the generosity of the Toronto Arts Council and Coaches Ontario, our series got over 50 kids dancing, crafting Halloween masks, and learning about street safety (what many martial artists call “situational awareness”). After dance and crafts, we used group games and chats to teach kids how to be ALERT and SEEN while walking on the street at night and after school, and how to use their voice (words) and body (distance and posture) to protect themselves from any potentially unwanted contact or scary situations.

Our sessions were hosted by the Toronto Public Libraries in Rexdale and Scarborough Central, Project Xguard BJJ in North Scarborough, and Flemingdon Health Center in East York.

To see what we did, please click on the clips in this blog.

I cannot wait to return in 2025 with another safety series in the Spring and Fall.

Sumera

Little Takeaways: 2024 Spring Youth Dance & Safety Series

By: Sumera Garcia-Quadri

This year, we were LUCKY to bring back our Free Youth Dance and Safety event series in the Spring and Fall through the support of the Toronto Arts Council and PartciPACTION Community Challenge. Through their generosity, we partnered with 6 organizations operating in 5 unique communities to get over 100 youth moving in June.

The goal of our series has always been to get more youth who live in under-resourced areas with high gun violence rates to move more and feel safe as they walk around their neighborhoods and take the transit.

Here are a few takeaways from our Spring series

A new kid's club joined our event series
We got over 100 youth ages 6 to 18 years old moving within 30 days
Participants were taught beginner self-defense techniques such as how to defend themselves from bodily harm (such as strikes and kicks) and escape common attacks (such as wrist grabs, back grabs, and choke holds).
Most of the sessions had at least 18 youth in attendance, surpassing the average number of youth we had per session in past years (this year, the smallest number of participants was 12, and 45 was the largest)
All host organizations were consulted in advance (via email & phone calls) on how we could deliver a well-run session for their age group/demographic
All workshops ran according to plan and instructors adapted on the spot to ensure a fun and safe class
All host organizations have shown an interest in bringing us back!

I would like to thank our host organizations for collaborating with me once more

Scarborough Central – Kabibi and Tanya at Kick Start Club, TNG Services
Black Creek – Shanaz and Pique at Success Beyond limits-JaneFinch
York – Latisha, DeQuon, and Alex at Weston Frontlines
North Etobicoke – Jessica at AlbionBGC and Stephanie at RCHC
Scarborough North – Eileen at L’Amoreaux Community Center

I thank our newest facilitators, Kris and Dee, for sharing their positive energy and skills with the next generation.

Keep an eye out for our 1st Halloween Dance & Safety series coming in October,

Sumera

Are you an organization interested in bringing our series to you?

Don't hesitate to get in touch with me (here) and mention your location and dates, age group /demographic, and budget.