Hamilton, ON—As one of our Development Assistants, Nicole’s responsibilities include organizing fundraisers, networking with prospective donors, scheduling public engagements and increasing organization membership. Nicole was born in Oakville, Ontario and has lived around the Greater Toronto Area all of her life. She currently resides in St. Catharines, where she is going into her third year of Business Communications at Brock University.

Nicole applied to Empowerment Squared because it helped bring two sides of her together: the business side of development and the humanitarian side of helping others. After reading the job description and the story behind the organization, Nicole knew her qualities would fit the job and wanted to become part of a team who was dedicated to helping people help others.

In her spare time, Nicole enjoys watching and playing sports, cheerleading, reading, and photography. Nicole likes watching television shows like Glee, Entourage, and one of her favourite shows of all-time, The O.C. Nicole is eclectic when it comes to music preferences, but she considers Paul McCartney and She and Him one of her favourites after seeing their concerts this past summer.

If Nicole had to describe herself in three words they would be: creative, enthusiastic and generous. If Ms. Walker were to be a kitchen utensil, she would be a utensil tray, because she considers herself a very organized person. If Nicole had a $1 million, she would travel around the world. However, she has already travelled many places, including New York City and other parts of the United States, Bermuda, Bahamas, Cuba, England, Scotland and Paris. Her dream travel destination is California.

After her exciting summer at Empowerment Squared, Nicole is happy to have learned so much that she can take away and apply to her future endeavours. She hopes to learn more about non-profit organizations and all of the daily operations that go into making a non-profit successful.

Empowerment Squared is constantly looking for enthusiastic interns who want to make a difference and join our team. For more information, please visit our Job Opportunities section for future employment and volunteer opportunities.

Hamilton, ON—With the summer drawing to a close, Empowerment Squared too closes a chapters as they say goodbye to their current Director of Outreach & Development, Michael Pett. Pett, who co-founded the organization in March 2007 alongside Leo Johnson and Alayna Kolodzhiechuk, has decided to move on and expand upon his management and fundraising experience within the non-profit sector.

During the past three years, Pett has served as the Director of Outreach & Development for the organization where he has overseen many aspects of the organization, including fundraising, donor relations, event planning, membership development and community outreach. He has also held a seat on the Management Team and been responsible for setting long-term goals running day-to-day operations.

However, Pett’s largest accomplishment with Empowerment Squared has been ShAIDS of Grey, the highly-acclaimed AIDS benefit play that he created in March 2008. Tackling the stereotypes and stigmas that surround the HIV/AIDS pandemic, ShAIDS of Grey has grossed over $75,000 during the past two years and received great attention in the community for its educational and emotional take on a topic that is often difficult to discuss in today’s society.

“It has been a great pleasure to have served Empowerment Squared since helping found the organization,” says Pett. “The friendships and experiences that I have made over the past three years are indescribable. This organization will always hold a special place in my heart.”

“It is a big transition for Empowerment Squared,” says Leo Johnson, Executive Director of Empowerment Squared. “Michael has played a huge role in the workings of this organization since its founding and he will be greatly missed.”

Pett will continue to support the initiatives of Empowerment Squared and looks forward to being involved with the organization in an unofficial role. Although his departure will leave a large gap, Empowerment Squared hopes to announce a new Director of Outreach & Development in the upcoming months.

“I wish the staff and volunteers all the best, and extend my gratitude and congratulations to Empowerment Squared for the great work that has been accomplished over the least three years,” says Pett.

Pett’s last official day at Empowerment Squared will be Friday, August 27, 2010. Until a new director has been announced, please direct all fundraising, outreach and recruitment inquiries to Leo Johnson at l.johnson@empowermentsquared.org.

Hamilton, ON—As an organization that was started by students, and as a student writing this article, I know that it’s easy when you are attending school to place yourself in the “poor student” category. Tuition is higher than ever and living on your own for the first time brings with it a new lifestyle that is often guided by a strict budget. But how many of us have actually lived in real poverty?

When we think of “real” poverty, we tend to stir up images presented to us by the media. Images of slums from around the world where people are living with next to nothing in an area that is surrounded by filth and sickness. What we forget is that this “real” poverty is something just as close to home as the student ghetto surrounding McMaster University. Youth poverty is something that is much more serious in Hamilton than a lot of people realize.

Poverty is something that no one likes to talk about. It highlights areas where society is failing, and despite our best efforts to improve quality of life, it’s a problem that is difficult to tackle. Underprivileged youth in particular are a sensitive subject to discuss because of their vulnerability and ignored potential. The extent of this problem can be seen with these staggering facts:

• 24% of those living in poverty in Hamilton are children
• 41% of those living in poverty are either too young or too old to work
• A person working 40 hours per week at minimum wage earns an income below the poverty line
• 20% of Hamilton’s population, or 95,650 residents, live in households with incomes below the poverty line

Simply said, more needs to be done to help underprivileged youth to break the cycle of poverty in their lives. The help that exists in Hamilton for the unfortunate is extremely underfunded, under promoted, and under appreciated. This is unfortunate because these initiatives are doing incredible work but are not given the chance to flourish.

To fully engage youth and make a difference, it is imperative that they are actively involved in the cause. In general, youth like to take ownership over their own projects. By giving them creative control and showing patience, youth see that their opinion matters.

Throwing money at the problem and letting an outside body decide what is best for them simply doesn’t work. Youth know their problems and the best ways to fix them.

Letting young people lead development programs allows youth to become leaders and better mentors for their peers. Participants are also given the opportunity to meet people in their community, forging new networks that support a positive identity.

At Empowerment Squared, we help people help others. DRIVEN: Beyond Boundaries is a collection of free, volunteer run programs that run after school, on weekends and during the summer months. It is a program aimed at improving the quality of life for local Hamilton youth by providing opportunities for growth through sports, art, and education. With firsthand experience, the program proves to youth that success is an attainable goal.

Life After High School (LAHS), one of the five components that make up DRIVEN, is an excellent example of a youth led program that provides support to other youth. LAHS strives to educate and excite Hamilton youth about the options they have after high school. Empowerment Squared volunteers show youth of all backgrounds that they have the opportunities, regardless of how much or how little money they have. The program shows high school students that post-secondary education can be a realistic goal for everyone by offering workshops about university and college admissions, financial aid, learning disabilities, and much more.

The definition of poverty is closely linked with income, but it goes beyond this. It is linked to opportunity, which is something that we can give. Youth led initiatives provide leadership and development opportunities for youth to give them a sense of a control in their lives which is otherwise absent. These kinds of initiatives are needed to give youth a voice and to build safe spaces to facilitate healthy growth.

Giving youth ownership over their own projects and using familiar communication channels, such as Twitter or Facebook, will make the process more comfortable for youth and will encourage participation, strengthen membership and maintain the health of the programs. Youth led initiatives give underprivileged youth a choice, a place to start the slow climb out of poverty.

Hamilton, ON—As one of our Communication Assistants, Samantha’s responsibilities include writing content for the Empowerment Squared website, expanding the social network reach of the organization through various social media tools, and assisting with brand control. Samantha was born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario and is a recent graduate from Brock University with a Business Communications Major. She will be continuing her studies at Niagara College for Public Relations in September.

Samantha is an expert instant communicator, using social media to educate others about global development projects. She wanted to become more involved with local initiatives and stay up to date with current affairs, so joining the Empowerment Squared team was a natural fit. Samantha’s thirst to put her theoretical knowledge from university into real world practice is the driving force behind her social media communicative efforts and her motivation to create change.

In her spare time, Samantha dances and does yoga and pilates. She enjoys sitting back and watching reality TV shows and HBO. She likes reading romantic novels and magazines. If she had to describe herself using three words, they would be: outgoing, reliable, and creative. In the kitchen, Ms. Applewhaite would be a spoon, because she is so well rounded. With $1 million, she would pay off her student debt, give some money to her family and friends, travel, and donate to charity. She has traveled to Jamaica, Cuba, Bermuda, and Texas but if she could be anywhere in the world it would be England or Paris.

Samantha hopes to help local networks, continuously advocate for youth, and gain more experience in the non-profit communications PR field through her internship with Empowerment Squared. Using social media and her writing, she hopes to raise awareness and become more involved in developmental issues.

Empowerment Squared is constantly looking for enthusiastic interns who want to make a difference and join our team. For more information, please visit our Job Opportunities section for future employment and volunteer opportunities.

Hamilton, ON—United FC arrived home to Canada on August 9, 2010 with big smiles on their faces.  After a long, difficult journey to get there, they were reunited in England and had three final games to play as a full team.

With the support Canada gave them in the back of their minds, the team played with everything they had. The first game, on Friday August 6 was against Maidenhead United. As hard as they played, a lot of their starters, who had just arrived at the tournament, were exhausted and they ended up losing 2-0.

The following day United FC played the semi-final match against Haringey Bourough. The boys were much more mentally prepared for this game and came out on top with a score of 1-0.

The plate final was played against Woking FC. This game was a hard fight. Manual Gonzalez, the team’s goalkeeper was injured with a dislocated shoulder. He played on with the injury but this put the team in a difficult situation. One of the team’s star players Ephraim Cirillo also was injured and had to be taken out of the game.  These injuries hindered the team’s performance but they still played hard and dominated possession of the ball throughout the whole match. In the end, Woking FC scored 3 goals to win the match 3-1. Sokiri Kenedy, one of the team’s forwards, scored United FC’s final goal.

The team was happy with their performance and grateful for the opportunity to play abroad. “We are proud that we played hard in the matches knowing that we were playing against semi-professional English teams who get paid to play,” said Awer Wel, a forward on the team. “We play because it’s our passion.”

United FC will be playing in the A division, winter league in Hamilton this coming year. Empowerment Squared will be adopting United FC officially come September 1 as a project under DRIVEN: Beyond Boundaries which is made up of a collection of programs run for under-privileged youth in the city of Hamilton.  This will mean continued support and development for the current United FC team as well as gradual growth for the program in hopes of offering more kids the chance to be part of United FC.

Today is a difficult day because we lost the final. However, we are handling it well because we know it was a combination of things we couldn’t control. We had a good number of injuries and we were also unlucky in finishing our chances. Personally, I am extremely proud of this team. Knowing how well everybody supported each other and for the first time ever a Canadian team made it to finals. I am happy to be a part of the history.

I also want to express my heartfelt gratitude to my coaches, they have done what no one else could do for us–believe in us. They gave up everything ever since they met us to make us better. They lead us by example and we also believe in them because they are always there for us. We will never forget what they have done.

We are happy that we were up to the challenge knowing that we were playing against semi-professional English teams who get paid to play. They were surprised by the level at which we play and how much perseverance we had. In fact, they are yet to believe that this team is not a semi-professional team and we don’t get paid to play. We play because it is our passion and it is the only thing we’ve got.

My sincere gratitude to Canada and all those who helped in different ways by giving us a chance. We will never forget that you stood up for us.

Yesterday was amazing! We were in high spirits and everybody was feeling happy during our preparation to redeem Team Canada. With regards to the tournament, it’s been an amazing and tough experience every step of the way. We had to overcome a huge distraction and disappointment with the help of Canadians. Even when we got here, it just wasn’t the same knowing that our teammates were forced to play with two players short and no subs in the first two games.

It all seemed gone and lost. It felt like there was nothing we could do to overcome the challenge. But our Coaches have been amazing as usual, they prepared us well and told us to go out there and work hard. They told us to forget about winning or losing and work hard to show everybody why we deserve to be here. And we did! We played our hearts out and won our semifinal match which now means we are in the final for the Plate.

It felt really good that we showed people what we are capable of. I personally felt good because I was able to help the team qualify for the final by scoring the winning goal. At the end of the day, no matter what happens, we will do the best we can in a very tough situation and we will forever be grateful to Canadians for giving us this opportunity.

It felt better today because for the first time we were able to play as a full team. We knew we were tired but didn’t know what to expect. We were really tired, less running and movement off the ball because we were physically exhausted and the other team took advantage of the situation. I think we showed them too much respect and it took about 30 minutes before we really got ourselves into game mode.

We take full responsibility for the result in the end and we are looking to bounce back. We are in high spirits and we are hoping for a little bit of luck as well.

Personally, it was worth all the headache to get here. My game has improved playing at this level for the first time. I am also learning another side of the game because English football is more physical and less skillful and it is another angle of the game I had no real experience with.

Hopes are high and the team discipline has been excellent since we lost yesterday. Everyone is eager to bounce back from all the distractions and defeat. I am looking forward to a difficult game. We will fight till the very end.

United we’ll win or lose no matter what.

The last week has been a busy one for United FC on both sides of the ocean. Both in England and in Canada, it has been difficult for coaches and team members to stay united with all the obstacles they have faced. But after an outpouring of support from Canadians across the country, United FC is finally together as a team in England.

The tournament began last Saturday and United FC was scheduled to play their first game the following day.

With great courage, the team braved their first match without a full squad. After borrowing two players from a local team in order to play, the game began. But within the first 15 minutes, Goalkeeper Manual Gonzalez was injured. With no substitutes, two borrowed players, many injuries, and a teammate in net who had never played goalie, United FC lost their first game 9-0.

Although the loss was tough, Forward Joel Alberto from El Salvador stood out in the game with a number of shots on net that came close to goals. He kept the team together even with so many of their starting line-up either injured or still at home in Canada.

With a hard loss and the disappointment of having to play without their teammates still left in Canada, the pain of losing was great. But Izuba Musafiri, a defender for United FC, thinks that it was this pain that allowed them to do so well in their second match. “In the first game we let our nerves dominate us, but our second game went much better,” said Musafiri.

Their second match was against Thames Bank Dynamos, the first place team in their division. With six injuries, two yellow cards and no borrowed players, they were in a tough position from the start. But the team pulled together and ended up only losing 2-0 despite playing the entire game shorthanded. Although it was still another loss, the team was much more comfortable with how they performed on the field.

Meanwhile back home in Canada, Coach Johnson was busy doing everything possible to secure visas for the remaining eight players and get them on a plane to England. With the help of supporters, the necessary papers were put in order over the long weekend and visas were ready for pick-up in Ottawa on Wednesday morning. After a long drive to and from Ottawa, Leo met the team with visas in hand before departing together for Pearson International Airport.

“We want to make Canadians proud. The support we received was amazing and although we aren’t in the best position in the tournament right now, we’re ready to do what we can to change that. I just can’t wait to get out on the field!” said Forward Korha Kpehe as he waited to check-in.

“They have done their best. Even though we’re an ocean behind, we’re still United FC and we’re ready to show everyone at the tournament.” Defender Yosef Belay chimed in.

After a seven-hour flight, Coach Johnson and the remaining eight players safely arrived in England on Thursday morning.

The original ten players that arrived on time for the tournament can’t even think about going home yet, and now they couldn’t be more excited after finally being reunited with the rest of their teammates.

The team had a full practice Thursday afternoon and are looking forward to finally playing together after a spending a week apart.

United FC plays their third game of the tournament today against Maidenhead at 12:45 pm EDT.

My day began when we arrived in London at 11:00 am Thursday morning. I was very happy when I saw Coach Mark and some of my teammates waiting for us at the airport. I was really tired, but after I saw the rest of the team, I forgot that I was tired because I was so happy and full of excitement.

We took a bus from the airport to the Royal Holloway University of London. We arrived at noon and headed to the Campus Pub for lunch. For the first time I had some real English food prepared by British people. I had some potato wedges and beans. I’ve had those before, but it was prepared differently and I must admit I enjoyed it.

After lunch, Coach Mark showed us our rooms and a little bit of the building. We moved our stuff into our rooms, unpacked and headed out for our first practice as a full team. The team spirit was excellent. Everyone was happy when they saw us and it felt like we were training for the game of our lives. We practiced for about an hour, had a crunch team talk from coaches Leo and Mark, and then headed back to the campus to shower. After showering, we went to the cafeteria for dinner and there was rice, pasta and beans. It seems like everything in England goes with beans. That’s at least my impression so far. But it was good.

And then it was time for some fun! There was a talent show that night and our team got right into it without even thinking. There were participants from all the teams represented, and in the end, we came second place! We were pretty happy though because it was the beginning of us getting ourselves away from all the distractions so far.

I decided not to talk about the flight because everyone was exhausted especially after taking some Gravol.

My thanks to Christine Vaughan, Alex, Catharine, Michael Pett and Kate Weersink back in Hamilton for all the stress, expenses and hardwork they put in to getting us here. And to Coach Leo, his commitment and dedication is an example we will work hard to follow because that is all he has ever asked us for.

Above all, we say thank you to Canada, you are all we’ve got and you haven proven that to us. We will work harder to make you proud. As we prepared for our first game tonight as a full team, we are all in high spirits and ready to fight till the end. UNITED.