Civic Engagement Toronto
Engage in Toronto's vibrant civic community
Avengers’ Saturday Cafe for the Homeless
Sat, Oct 3, 3:00 PMNote: You may be removed from the attendance list if you've participated in the previous week's event. This allows for more people to experience this Meetup. Avengers put your costumes on and let’s go and save the world! Well we can’t save the world (yet), but we aim to try to play a small part in the lives of those experiencing homelessness by making their day a bit better! Description: Before the event the organizer will post a list in the comment section of the attendees and what they are responsible to bring (food/drink, kitchen supplies, cleaning supplies). We normally ask each attending member to bring approximately $15-20 worth of ingredients/supplies to our event. We will use the items to prepare and serve food/drink at The Meeting Place. Timeline: We will meet on location at 11:00 am, with lunch served between 12:30-1:00 pm. Membership Dues: Membership dues are $2.00 for the calendar year. Membership dues go towards paying for food/supplies incurred by no-shows. Membership dues are due at the first meetup of the year that you attend. No Shows/Late Un-RSVP: We’re relying on members who RSVP to bring key ingredients for recipes! Please try your best to show-up or alternatively change your RSVP early so another member may fill the empty spot. \*\*\* If you are on the waitlist, keep checking as you may be moved into attendance to replace someone. We will try to message you to confirm your attendance in advance. Donations will be assigned before the event.
Community Meal Service at Good Shepherd (Toronto)
Sat, Oct 10, 5:30 PM✨ **Community Meal Service at Good Shepherd** Hi everyone, we have a meaningful opportunity to serve people experiencing homelessness and those at risk in our community, and we truly appreciate your participation. During our recent sessions, we served meals, chopped veggies, made sandwiches, and helped prepare pasta. **Only 6 spots are available, making this a special chance to be part of something impactful.** **Register quickly And Easily on our website; only those who complete the one-time registration will be considered for the volunteer spots.** We'll need a few details- name, emergency contact, and a quick agreement checkbox- to keep everyone safe and coordinated. * Register here: [https://torontojoy.org/register/](https://torontojoy.org/register/) * Once you're registered, go to our Events page, select the event on October 10th, and click "Register"; that's it. * Events page: [https://torontojoy.org/events/](https://torontojoy.org/events/) If you sign up, please do so with the intention of attending, as your commitment helps us plan effectively and shows your dedication to the cause. **Arrival Information** * When you arrive at Reception, staff will guide you to the volunteer room, where you can place your belongings in a locker and meet the group. Below are simple guidelines on what to wear, safety, and other things to know: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1piAyloECv9YUDkPJuoJBdCmh3x8n1un1rGvJSFIkbs4/edit?usp=sharing **Good to know:** * Closed-toe shoes are required. * Tie back long hair and wear minimal jewelry. * Water will be provided; please ask Reception for a bottle if you'd like one. * Please arrive between 1:30 PM and 1:40 PM so we can assign roles before we start. * If you can't make it due to an emergency, please message me as soon as possible 🙏 **For each place we volunteer, we set up a WhatsApp group**. On the day of coordination, if people are late or need directions, we can also provide updates. This makes communication easy, and you can ask questions/share feedback before or after the event. It was helpful during our last event, as we learned there was a festival, a street was closed, and we needed to detour. Please feel free to join the Good Shepherd Volunteer Group: [https://chat.whatsapp.com/BjvTNsIBmZODQuHY740Hht](https://chat.whatsapp.com/BjvTNsIBmZODQuHY740Hht) Grateful to serve alongside you. Amar and Team
📣9/27‼️FOR ENGLISH SPEAKERS : TORONTO Japanese English Language Exchange
Sun, Sep 27, 1:30 PM#### **This event page is for English speakers only.** **こちらのイベントページは英語話者の方向けです。** **日本人の方は、別のイベントページからお申し込みください！** *** We host a Japanese & English language exchange meeting every Sunday at 9:30 AM. Participants practice in pairs or small groups, with 50 minutes of Japanese practice and 50 minutes of English practice. The study materials used in our sessions are created by professional language teachers. ### **Before Signing Up, Please Read the Following** * **Please make sure to check the comments section of the event page, as all event details and materials will be shared there around Saturday.** * This meeting is intended for people who are genuinely interested in language learning. Participants joining for other purposes may be asked to leave. * We prioritize creating a safe and comfortable environment for all attendees. * Disruptive behavior, solicitation, or sales activities are not allowed. Anyone who does not follow the instructions of the organizer or staff may be removed from the group. * **Participation fee : Refunds and carryovers are not available.** ### **Participation Fee & Donation** Your participation fee will be used by Emiko Tanaka, a Yosakoi Ambassador, to promote Yosakoi Naruko Dance from Kochi, Japan, to the world. For more details, please visit our website: [Yosakoi Ambassador Project](https://yosakoiambassador.com/) We look forward to seeing you at the event!
The Future of Wellbeing: AI, Community & Social Impact
Wed, Oct 14, 9:30 PMRegister here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/the-future-of-wellbeing-ai-community-social-impact-tickets-1997859089317?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAcGRvZgJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAad9JE43Cv4asJwzLwmAkV5UH94sl9eJwjPGVPLPRLCUuBLTGMNoB7aCPW61-A_aem_eqTb0M6UTv4G97JZPcFxPw **Overview** What does it mean to build AI in service of wellbeing? A one-day forum on tech, climate, mental health, community & social impact. *A Community Panel & Networking* An evening forum on what it means to build technology in service of wellbeing. As AI reshapes how we live, work, and care for one another, one question matters more than ever: what does it mean to build and adopt technology in service of holistic wellbeing — human, community, and societal — in the Canadian context? The Mindful Impact Forum brings together nonprofit leaders, founders, technologists, youth, and changemakers for a focused day of conversation and practice. We move deliberately from the human to the technical: first setting the foundation of what wellbeing truly means, then turning to how we build and adopt AI responsibly in service of it. After launching our forum series in Vancouver this past March, we're bringing it to Toronto for a single, focused edition — in partnership with Google Developer Groups and The Dais, TMU. ### **What you'll experience** * A flagship day of remarks, a keynote, and an opening panel on wellbeing * A creatively facilitated community forum — real cross-sector dialogue * A hands-on AI & technology for social impact workshop * Practical tools for leadership, resilience, and innovation you can use the next morning * A genuinely cross-sector room: founders, youth leaders, community builders, and changemakers ### **The program** Session 1 — Framing & Community Panel: What Wellbeing Means Session 2 — AI and Responsible Innovation: From Principles to Practice Session 3 — Finding our Wisdom Way Forward: Future Community Wellbeing & Leadership ## Event Details **📍 Location:** The Sandbox, TMU (341 Yonge St 3rd floor, Toronto, ON M5B 1S1) **📅 Date:** Oct 14, Wednesday 2026 **⏰ Time:** 6 PM - 9:00 PM (Door open 5:30 PM) **🎫 Ticket — FREE -$50** All proceeds support Wisdomway Impact’s mental wellbeing initiatives. Student & Youth (under 25, limited spots) FREE **Speakers** 1. **AJ Kim** is a social entrepreneur, global impact practitioner, dedicated to building spaces where inner development and collective change meet. Her work spans leadership development, youth empowerment, and community wellbeing initiatives in Asia, Africa, and Canada, grounded in field experiences, dialogue, and systems thinking. Through forums, education programs, and partnerships, she explores how mental wellbeing can become a foundation for stronger communities, sustainable leadership, and long-term social impact. 2. **Alejandro Castellanos** Toronto-based AI Systems Architect, Alejandro builds trustworthy AI technologies for community resilience, public-interest intelligence, and human-centred care. His work emphasizes evidence, human oversight, and technology that strengthens—not replaces—human judgment. 3. **Camara Chambers** (*Director of Learning and Events, The Dais at TMU)* Named one of 100 Black Women in Canada to Watch and a national leader by The Philanthropist Journal, Camara has spent her career where equity meets civic engagement — leading a national policy program for Europe's largest LGBTQ charity, and serving as Executive Director of Volunteer Toronto, Canada's largest volunteer centre. At the Dais she builds community partnerships and designs leadership programs for Canada's next generation of leaders, and she founded Let's Hike T.O., which has introduced over 1,300 people to the trails. She brings the question that keeps the whole session honest: responsible *for whom?* 4. **Carolyn Shaw** is the Co-Founder, President and Chief Creative Officer of Humanity, an independent, Black-owned and female-led agency built for changemakers. With more than 20 years of experience in marketing, branding and design, she helps purpose-driven organizations turn bold ambitions into ideas, experiences and campaigns that move people. Carolyn believes the strongest organizations are built by keeping people—their needs, dignity and lived experiences—at the centre of how we lead, communicate and create change. Her work spans health, education, culture, sustainability and the nonprofit sector, bringing strategy and creativity together to make complex issues more human and meaningful. A lifelong learner and advocate for purpose-led leadership, Carolyn is especially interested in how organizations can pursue progress without losing sight of the people that progress is meant to serve. 5. **Danielle (dane) Cadhit** is an experience designer, story weaver, facilitator, and lifelong observer of patterns. At Coralus, she crafts experiences that invite people to connect more deeply, see and do things differently, and (re)imagine new possibilities.Her curiosity tends to live in the spaces between things: between people and ideas, work and life, structure and emergence, the inner world and the communities we build around us. Lately, she has been especially interested in what happens when we stop treating ourselves like something to optimize, and instead pay more attention to the rhythms, seasons, relationships, and conditions that shape how we actually live, work, gather, and create. 6. **Hilary Van Welter** is CEO (Chief Exploration Officer) at Ascentia, Coralus Transformation Architect, and Associate Steward at Bounce Beyond. She has spent a lifetime exploring how life, people, organizations, communities and nature flourish, evolve and bring new possibilities into being. Her perspective has been shaped by decades of looking at these questions from many angles, across government, business, social innovation, community and systems transformation. Her work lives at the intersection of strategy, imagination and living systems, with a particular curiosity about the relationships and conditions that reimagine even the term wellbeing beyond the individual into community and society. She brings the wisdom of a long trajectory, a deep trust in life’s intelligence, and an ability to sense patterns and possibilities while they are still emerging. 7. **Jake Hirsch-Allen** (*Director of Partnerships, The Dais at TMU)* Jake works at the intersection of inclusive technology, ethical data, and responsible AI. He built public-private partnerships in workforce development and higher education at LinkedIn, co-founded Lighthouse Labs, and advises impact investors, public-sector leaders, and startups on responsible tech and AI governance. A former intellectual property and international criminal lawyer who clerked at the Supreme Court of Israel, he can speak to the ethics, the policy, and the build of AI all at once — and here, he opens the questions the demos will have to answer. 8. **Katie Choi (she/her)** is the Lead of Community Education at HF Care and a registered social worker with experience supporting diverse communities across the mental health, developmental services, and settlement sectors. Drawing on both her professional background and her lived experience as an immigrant and the daughter of immigrant parents, Katie is passionate about exploring how culture, migration, and family dynamics shape holistic wellness. Through her work, she supports front-line workers in building culturally responsive, trauma-informed, and strengths-based approaches to service delivery. 9. **Kritima Kukreja** Technology professional and mobile developer, Founder of Synk Tech AI. Specialized in creating smart agents, chatbots and automations that scales for the client’s needs. A former experienced developer in well-known companies such as IBM, MicroSoft, Bank of America, and Google. Kritima builds user-focused digital experiences and explores the intersection of AI, mobile technology, and emerging digital tools. She is also an active member of Toronto’s tech community, supporting and mentoring fellow builders. 10. **Swelen Andari** is the Director of Strategy, Climate Resilience & Youth Mental Health at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). She leads a research and systems change initiative to address climate distress, climate action, and active hope for youth. Swelen leads the CAMH Mental Health & Climate Response Initiative, an organization-wide effort addressing climate-related mental health impacts. Trained as a Creative Arts Therapist and with a background in systems thinking, and implementation science, she has over a decade of experience in system-level initiatives to improve access, service design, prevention, and youth leadership in Ontario’s child/youth mental health system. For several years, Swelen was involved in local and national climate justice organizing, including collaborating with Climate Justice Toronto, supporting the 350’s Our Time Campaign, and co-designing a social movement organization committed to advancing equitable climate solution, good work and dignity for all. ## Organizer & Sponsors **Wisdomway Impact** connects mental wellbeing with community, social, and environmental resilience. We support leadership programs, community wellbeing strategies, and cross-sector impact projects that strengthen trust and collective care. We believe community wellbeing begins with inner wellbeing. Your ticket directly supports ongoing community initiatives and leadership development programs. **The Dais, Toronto Metropolitan University** is a public policy and leadership think tank, working at the intersection of technology, education and democracy to build shared prosperity and citizenship for Canada. With over 20 research reports exploring how AI is reshaping work, public policy, education and the nonprofit sector, the Dais has helped organizations build the knowledge and practical skills needed to adopt AI responsibly and effectively through the RAISE initiative which saw 550+ nonprofit professionals across Canada access practical training on AI governance and adoption. **GDG Toronto** is a chapter of Google Developer Groups, a global network of local, community-run developer groups. We bring people together around Google technologies through talks, hands-on workshops, and hackathons to be the technology literacy bridge for our community.
Mandarin-English Exchange
Sat, Sep 26, 7:00 PMHello Everybody! 【College Park food court is closed again, so we change the location to the food court in Brookfield Place（181 Bay St., Toronto, ON）, near the Union Station.】 I am helping organize a mandarin-english language exchange downtown. If you want to improve your Mandarin/English, feel free to come by downtown and meet others to practise your language. There will be native Mandarin and English speakers to help you! Or you can share your language skills with others! Every Saturday 3:00pm-5:00pm Brookfield Place Food Court（181 Bay St., Toronto, ON） [ Please find a table with "meetup" label (like the Featured photo).] [ Usually in front of the Longo's supermarket] —————————————— 大家好： 【College Park的food court又给封了，所以我们把活动地点换到了 Brookfield Place的food court （181 Bay St., Toronto, ON），靠近Union Station。】 我正在组织一场中英文交流活动。如果你想提高你的普通话或者英语，那就快来参加吧！你可以在这里认识很多母语为普通话或者英语的新朋友！他们都非常乐于帮你提高你的中英文表达能力！也欢迎你同我们一起分享你的语言技巧! 谢谢! 每周六 3:00pm-5:00pm Brookfield Place Food Court（181 Bay St., Toronto, ON） 【请找到一张桌子，桌上有张纸，写着“Meetup”。】 【位置通常会在longo's超市前面】 ———————————————— 大家好： 【College Park的food court又給封了，所以我們把活動地點換到了Brookfield Place的food court （181 Bay St., Toronto, ON），靠近Union Station。】 我正在組織一場中英文交流活動。如果你想提高你的國語或者英語，那就快來參加吧！你可以在這裡認識很多母語為國語或者英語的新朋友！他們都非常樂於幫你提高你的中英文表達能力！也歡迎你同我們一起分享你的語言技巧！ 謝謝! 每週六 3:00pm-5:00pm Brookfield Place Food Court（181 Bay St., Toronto, ON） 【請找到一張桌子，桌上有張紙，寫著“Meetup”】 【位置通常會在longo's超市前面】
✨ Volunteering: Food Bank
Sat, Sep 26, 2:00 PMWe’re hosting a volunteer event with the Daily Bread Food Bank 💛, one of **Toronto’s largest charities**, which supports people facing difficult circumstances every day. We’ll be **sorting food** 🥕🥫📦 and, if needed, helping to prepare it for distribution. This is hands-on help that directly impacts someone’s daily life. **No special experience or skills are required.** All that matters is your willingness to get involved and donate a few hours of your time. ⏰ **Time:** 9:50 AM to 12:00 PM 💬 **Coordinator:** Kate 💜 **Participation is free** ⚠ Age requirement: 15 and older ❗ Before participating, you must **review the mandatory form from Daily Bread.** You can sign it on-site, but it’s important to read the document in advance. We’ll send the link via the bot after registration. **Register on [TryToronto website](https://trytoronto.org/events/food-bank-sep)** **Our Instagram: [@try_toronto_](https://www.instagram.com/try_toronto_)**
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