JASON COLERO – Director, Education Programs & Argos Foundation
TORONTO – This past January we sat down with the Rotary Club of Toronto to discuss their projects for their centennial year celebrations. When we talked about both organizations, one common thread was prevalent. Both organizations encompass a motto that Rotary Clubs everywhere celebrate: S.A.S. (Service Above Self).
As one of the significant community members of our organization, Michael ‘Pinball’ Clemons once pointed out, “It is very easy to think about yourself in this day and age with all of these devices and things that stress the “I” in life. You might have a headset on and never know what goes on around you. Or live in a gated community and care only about what happens inside those gates. It’s hard to look at community outside the walls of our homes, work and schools.”
It only made sense that we would partner with Rotary to create the Rotary Club of Toronto and Toronto Argonauts Community Champion Scholarship. The scholarship is awarded to a Toronto student in financial need, that best exemplifies the S.A.S. mentality through their community work while maintaining academic excellence and participating in extracurricular activities. We were thrilled to provide the platform to showcase this individual who would receive their full post-secondary tuition fees paid through the Rotary Club of Toronto Scholarship committee.
The first recipient, a graduate from George Harvey Collegiate, Souleik Kheyre was well deserving of this year’s honour. Souleik was a mentor to younger girls through a local girls’ club, and participated in many cleanup projects. In addition she contributed to a publication that was created by youth, for youth to empower them to become advocates in their community. She participated in extracurricular sports at her school while maintaining an above average grade. Her goal is to go into journalism where she can continue her positive actions through her writing. When talking to Souleik, what impressed me most was her answer when she was asked how she was able to do all of this while struggling financially within a single-parent family. She simply responded, “I learned to never feel sorry for myself and to never quit.”
Quitting can be the easiest option for a lot of youth who are feeling as though nothing goes right and wondering why should they should continue to work hard or strive through adversity. When I was bullied, I could have quickly found myself looking for the easy way out and drawing myself to the sense of protection and belonging with the wrong crowd. I was fortunate enough to diligently call the Argos until I found the right sense of belonging. Many of the stories from our players stem from a variety of situations in their lives where they could have gone either way, however, something in them allowed them to believe they can succeed, just as Souleik has.
Faced with the recent rash of violence in our city, instead of S.A.S. it seems that there is an S.O.S. (Save Our Ship) mentality. Perhaps Souleik and the many who have chosen to make a difference in a positive way can give us hope and belief in something better. That’s everything we need so that we don’t quit and we don’t feel sorry for our city, but rather do something to employ the Argonauts’ “All Hands on Deck” mentality we all know but seem to have briefly forgotten.
Make your passion your Life and No one can take that away.