Y.A.A.C.E Grey Cup Visit

On December 16th, 2017 our team travelled to C.W. Jeffreys Collegiate Institute to surprise the children of the Y.A.A.A.C.E organization with a chance to feel like a champion and raise the Grey Cup.

The Foundation had arranged an end-of-the-year pizza party for the children, as well as their families as part of the 12 Days of Giving. Unknowingly to them, the team was bringing more than just hot pizza, which was generously donated by Pizzaville. Along with our team and a few donors, we had a few special guests drop by. These guests included Michael “Pinball” Clemons, Toronto Argonauts Cheerleaders, and a member of the newly crowned CFL Grey Cup Champions and Toronto Native, Matt Black.

In a community where struggle and hardship is constant, it is important for these children to see first hand what education, determination and hard work can achieve. Matt Black experienced his own sense of struggle growing up in the inner cities of Toronto. Black mentioned in an interview by the Toronto Star;

““My love of sports pushed me to do well in school so I could continue to play. I had the athletic ability to get there but I had to achieve certain grades. The academic side was going to hold me back and I didn’t want to let that happen.”

Through hard work and persistence, Matt earned a four year scholarship to Saginaw Valley State, which ultimately led to the earning of a Bachelor’s Degree. Following college, Matt was drafted by his hometown’s own Toronto Argonauts, and is currently in his 9th season. He was a key factor in the championship game win with what many people consider the biggest play in Argos history. Matt made the game clinching interception in the final seconds of the game.

It was quite evident that the words of Matt Black, as well as the words of Michael “Pinball” Clemons really reignited with each child. Following their speeches, all of the children lined up for their moment with the Grey Cup. It was a wonderful and rewarding sight for the parents, our team and most importantly the donors, who got to see how their contributions made this moment possible.

 

The 3rd Annual Victory Charity Ball

On Thursday, June 1st, 2017 we had the pleasure of hosting the 3rd Annual Victory Charity Ball (VCB) in support of the Pinball Clemons Foundation Ambassador School Program.

The Ambassador School Program serves young people who have been raised in the child welfare system and have experienced significant trauma, abuse and neglect in their lives. These students are seeking to graduate from high school after having dropped out of the conventional education system, often due to a variety of terrible factors that plague their young lives. The program transforms the lives of Toronto’s most critically at-risk youth by helping these students to reassemble the pieces of their lives in a healthy and productive way. We were lucky enough to hear from Isaiah, a student from the Ambassador School, tell his story. His story was powerful and gut wrenching, and by the end a large portion of the audience had been moved to tears. It is stories like Isaiah’s that demonstrate the impact the Ambassador School can have in changing the lives of at-risk youth here in our beautiful city.

The event was held at CBC Studio 40, which was once again transformed from the set of Dragon’s Den to a stunning boxing venue reminiscent of Las Vegas. Unlike most Las Vegas style boxing matches, our VCB included many fighters with no prior boxing experience. Our fighters traded their laptops and suits in for a set of boxing gloves to raise money for the youth attending the program.

George Chuvalo was in attendance along with celebrities hosts CTV etalk’s Laura Ward as well as TSN’s Rod Black and Cabral ‘Cabbie’ Richards. 

Guests also got to enjoy the internationally acclaimed artist Trevor Guthrie as he brought the crowd to their feet with a few of his hit singles such as “Soundwave” and “This is What it Feels Like.”

2017 Victory Charity Ball was a huge success that raised over $200,000 for underserved youth. Thank you to all who attended, hosted, volunteered, fought, donated and sponsored the event, together we made a difference.

JUST GIVE 2017

The results have finally come in for the 4^th annual JUST GIVE Food Drive and we are delighted to announce that it was a complete success! JUST GIVE is our annual campaign designed to inspire kindness throughout our communities by filling the food banks for the summer; a time when they are usually empty and client visits increase.

JUST GIVE kicked off bright and early on May 17th in downtown Toronto with a great group of volunteers and students from Irma Coulson Public School in Milton. They came all the way into the city to help inspire kindness. At Union Station commuters were welcomed by Michael ‘Pinball’ Clemons who held doors open and handed out high fives while greeting and putting smiles on the faces of commuting Torontonians.

For the remainder of the day 8 local police services from Niagara to Durham went school-to-school to pick up food from participating schools for the Cram-a-Cruiser Food Drive. At the same time Purolator was hard at work picking up and transporting food collected by local organizations for the Cram-a-Curbsider Food Drive.

This year a special challenge was giving to participating schools;  the school that collected the most food; the school that raised the most money were invited to attend the Toronto Argonauts pre-season game at BMO Field. We would like to recognize the following schools:

AM Cunningham, Hamilton – The school that raised the most funds 

Kingsway College, Toronto – The school that collected the most food

JB Tyrell, Toronto – Collected the largest combination of food and funds

In 2016 the JUST GIVE campaign raised 445,202 lbs. of food for several local food banks. This year with the help of our participating schools, businesses, food banks, police services, sponsors, volunteers and donors we are proud to announce that we raised 1,245,000 lbs. of food!

The JUST GIVE campaign demonstrates that small acts of kindness can have an enormous impact. Through the efforts and dedication of everyone involved we were able to fill food banks for the summer and offer a hand up to those in need, and for that we would like to offer our deepest gratitude. This couldn’t have been possible without you!

Donor’s first shelter dinner

One of our new donor’s had the chance to visit Youth without Shelter for the first time, here is her story about her first experience.

On January 22nd, 2017, I had my first experience at Youth without Shelter. I was informed about what the day would entail and what we would do for the youth and immediately I knew I wanted to be apart of it. To start the day, we headed to the grocery store and picked up the ingredients needed for the meal. Who knew that going through the grocery store with 3 carts could be so much fun. It felt like I was participating in a contest on a television show. We then headed to the shelter, unloaded all of the food and started prepping the kitchen for a day full of cooking. In addition, we were also fortunate enough to get a tour of the shelter. We had the opportunity to learn about where they live, what they do in their daily lives, their education, the different activities they go through on a day-to-day basis and their overall experience at the shelter. The tour was very moving and it made me that much more excited to get back to the kitchen and whip up an incredible meal for the youth. After bonding as a team and the cooking, we managed to put together a delicious dinner that consisted of jerk chicken, sweet potatoes, cornbread, coleslaw and mac and cheese. For dessert, we put together some plates of fresh fruit, cookies and brownies to satisfy their sweet tooth. Everything looked great but more importantly tasted great. We also got the opportunity to sit with the youth for dinner and talk a little bit. It was very touching to hear about how much the youth enjoyed their meal, their future meal requests and stories related to their hobbies and interests. Overall, my first experience at the shelter was amazing and truly inspiring. The staff cares for the youth tremendously and are eager to see them grow and succeed. It was great to bond as a team, get to know each other, learn how to cook and see the youth enjoy themselves. I look forward to my next visit at Youth without Shelter.

Christmas with the Clemons 2016

On December 8^th, 2016, the Clemons family and the Pinball Clemons Foundation hosted our second annual holiday concert at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Toronto. All proceeds from the event go to support local and international scholarships for youth striving academically but struggling financially.

The night was filled with festive performances from Diane Lee Clemons, Karl Wolf, Jennifer Valentyne, Mark Masri, Simone Denny, Micah Barnes – just to name a few! Our super talented performers mesmerized the audience with singing, dancing and we even had a comedic act from up and coming comedian, John Avery.

Kardinall Offishall hosted the evening and opened the night with a reading of the holiday classic – T’was The Night Before Christmas. Our special celebrity guests, Marc Kielburger, Damon Allen, Marci Ien, Steve Anthony and Jay Mandarino, joined us to share their favourite holiday memories with the group to get everyone in the Christmas spirit!

A big thank you to our presenting sponsor, Pizzaville and Slaight Fmaily Foundation, Toronto Star and CJ Graphics – the night would not have been possible without your support!

We would also like to thank all of the attendees and everyone who purchased tickets for youth from the community to attend the event. It was an amazing night and we already can’t wait for next year!

“Pinball” Inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame

On Tuesday November 1st, Michael “Pinball” Clemons, among others, was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. Through his tremendous athletic achievements and tireless work in the community, Clemons is a well deserving recipient. For those of you that do not know Michael personally, he is a kind, generous and loving friend, husband and father. Most of all, Clemons is motivational. Whether you are going through a tough time or feel like you are on top of the world, Clemons will always find a way to inspire and motivate you to do and be something better.

Clemons’ first Canadian appearance was when he began his incredible career in the Canadian Football League in 1989. Due to his size, boundless energy, and running style, Michael’s nickname, “Pinball”, was given to him by his coach, Tom Cudney, at the time. During his first game, Clemons was named player of the game! The following year, he won his very first football championship as an Argonaut by defeating the Calgary Stampeders to win the Grey Cup. Clemons went on to win two more Grey Cups as a player in 1996 and 1997 and then once more as the Argonauts head coach in 2004.

  Playing for the Argos for twelve seasons, and twice serving as their head coach, Clemons has been praised countless times by teammates and coaches for his athletic ability, team spirit and drive to win. Clemons has been deemed as one of the most respected athletes in Canadian sports.

Although Clemons recently became a Canadian citizen, he is one of the few people not born in Canada to earn induction into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. However, he is one of the most deserving inductees! From motivational speaking, to working in the local and global community, Clemons has touched the lives of many and has made such a prominent long-term impact in Canada and around the world. Congratulations Michael, and all the others, for your 2016 Canadian Sport Hall induction. All of us at the Pinball Clemons Foundation are so proud of you!

Mexican Fiesta at YWS

Every month, the “Dream Team” from the Pinball Clemons Foundation continues with their mission of supporting under resourced youth. At the Pinball Clemons Foundation, we believe that every contribution can help a young person develop his or her potential. On October 24^th, The Pinball Clemons Foundation hosted a special dinner for the children of “Youth Without Shelter.” We wanted to give these under privileged youths a delicious dinner that was different from what they normally served. We decided to host a Mexican Fiesta!

The Pinball Clemons Foundation team arrived at the shelter around 3:00 p.m. and with the support of some friends and the shelter staff, we started preparing a Mexican style dinner. This meal included several options including quesadillas, nachos, and chicken, beef, or vegetarian tacos.

The meal’s ingredients included grilled chicken, grilled peppers, freshly made guacamole, tomatoes, onion and lettuce. There were tortillas, hot salsa, sour cream, and, A LOT of cheese! The meal was served buffet style, so the each person was able to fill the tacos with the ingredients of their preference.

The dinner was served at 6:30 p.m. and the food was so delicious that the youth and the Pinball Clemons Foundation team went for a second round.

After the dinner, everyone was able to enjoy a delicious dessert with a variety of fruits such as pineapple, strawberries, grapes, as well as cookies. By nights end all the young people from YWS thanked everyone for all the hard work that was put into the preparation of such a special and memorable dinner for them.

Imagine a World of Possibilites

We are proud to announce that our 9^th Annual Imagine Gala took place at Westin Harbor Castle Hotel on the 19^th of October 2016, and we are truly delighted to say it was a great success!

With the help of our donors and sponsors such as Slaight Music, Avida, CIBC, JDFF, and Air Canada, to name only a few, we were able to create an unforgettable fundraising event to support and empower youth through education. The funds raised at this gala will be distributed both locally and internationally.

To kick off the evening, the night started off with a sophisticated cocktail reception, which included live entertainment from the young and talented musician William Leathers. Furthermore, a silent auction was integrated into the cocktail reception and included multiple unique, priceless items such as hover boards, signed sports memorabilia and gift baskets. We are proud to say that it was a great success and would like to thank our purchasers and supporters as well as our generous donating organizations. Without you, the start to the evening would have not been the same.

After the cocktail reception, the gala began with a music video of a new rendition of We Are the World by the infamous Michael Jackson, which included singing from Diane Clemons, Carl Wolf, Mark Masri, Micah Barnes and many more. Close to a 100 students from the Randolph Academy of Performing Arts finished off the song by surrounding the event space and sang the final verses of We Are the World in a-capella.

The night was hosted by two absolutely inspiring ladies; Toronto’s Breakfast Television star Jennifer Valentyne, and bright and motivating WE Ambassador Hannah Alper. As the evening went on, many other amazing guests hit the stage, such as Kayla Diamond. Diane Clemons and her band were absolutely amazing rocking the dance floor that night. There were also some unforgettable Imagine moments presented by some of the youth that we support that evening that touched everyone’s hearts and made us realize how rewarding and precious giving and helping others can be. The Imagine Gala would never be possible without our co-founder’s speech; Michael Clemons gave us all some fantastic ideas and inspirational pieces of mind together with a vision and highlight of the newly rebranded Pinball Clemons Foundation.

We are now looking forward to our Christmas with the Clemons night and fully encourage you to join us for a great filled with holiday cheer. Have your Christmas Party with us on the 8^th of December at Queen Elizabeth Theatre, contribute to a better world for youth and make a change together with us.