An Update from Flemingdon Neighborhood Services

Students coming home from school often walk past a small building next to the gas station and the previous pit stop 7/11 without a second’s notice.  Little do they know, the small space between the station and the next building holds plenty of opportunities for the large community of Flemingdon Park and themselves.

Enter Flemingdon Neighborhood Services, or more commonly known as F.N.S. As a fairly new organization, F.N.S. has yet to grow as large as T.N.O. (Thorncliffe Neighbourhood Office) – the neighboring street’s neighborhood service. However, with 1136 participants in 2011 for its youth program, it is not too far.

Flemingdon Neighborhood Services aims to provide an outlet for youth and the community to come and find resources available to them that would help them feel welcome in the neighborhood or the city in the case of immigrants. Its programs include the settlement program, as well as the housing, special housing, women’s workers, outreach, and most importantly (well for us, anyways), the youth program.

The Youth program at FNS implements programs for youth interest, as well as providing resources that would benefit youth and counseling one-to-one.  Additionally, for students who haven’t gotten around to finishing their 40 community service hours, the FNS provides enough opportunities for youth to fulfill that commitment.

Previously, the FNS has generated plenty of programs for youth such as Art adventures, Girls night, Movie night, and the soccer program. The Art Adventures program offers youth a chance to practice their creativity by painting, shading, and learning different art techniques. This year, F.N.S. offers a Chess Club, dance programs, Soccer program, and self-defense classes.

All of these classes offer youth to develop skills and learn something new to add to their competency list.  As well, there are plenty of volunteer opportunities available such as reading circles, a program that forms literacy groups in order to discuss reading projects, “Tutor Me, Please!” (a one-on-one tutoring program for kids in grades 2-8), and a new graffiti program. This graffiti program enables teenagers to paint a real mural and update the previous rainbow tunnel by the DVP while earning volunteer hours. If interested in any of these programs, contact Aisha Mehboob at 416-424-2900 ext. 30. Most of these programs are held at the office located at 10 Gateway Boulevard.

In short, the FNS is a great program for residents of Flemingdon Park to explore their neighborhood. It could also be a place to forming better social and communication skills, print out assignments, do graffiti legally, make new friends, and just to enjoy what the neighborhood has to offer. Check out the F.N.S.’s new, youth-inspired website here.