ENCOURAGE NEW LEADERS
UTSC’s Imani Academic Mentorship Program helped Jenny Charitable believe in herself. Now she pays it forward as a mentor to other Scarborough teens
WHAT’S NEW
Hundreds of students such as Jenny Charitable have received a university education they thought was out of reach, thanks to the vision of the Black Students’ Alliance, which founded U of T Scarborough’s Imani mentoring program, and alumna Mary Anne Chambers, who championed it
IN 2007, the Imani Academic Mentorship program at UTSC, just two years old, was already living up to its name – by helping students have “faith” in themselves. Established by the UTSC Black Students’ Alliance under the leadership of student Rashelle Litchmore (BSc 2008 UTSC), the program run by student volunteers was not only helping black
36 WWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CA
middle- and high-school students with their studies, but also celebrating black cultural heritage and the contributions of the African-Canadian community. More than 90 per cent of the program’s graduates say they were inspired to pursue post-secondary education. Imani’s mentees were thriving, but the program was close to being can-
celled for lack of funding. Mary Anne Chambers (BA 1988 UTSC), Ontario’s former minister of Children and Youth Services, made a five-year commitment (later generously renewed) to support Imani. Chambers loved every facet of the idea – including the fact that it would benefit local Scarborough residents. “I believe that a university has