Arthur Poppington
Courier Staff
From September until April next year, kids in the Scarborough neighbourhood of Malvern will get another chance to Play It Smart. Launched last year, the Play It Smart program enables children between the ages of seven and 13 to receive tutoring in English and math as well as play basketball in a house league.
The program is free for all participants.
The kids selected were either “self-identified” or found out about the program via ads in the Scarborough Mirror community newspaper.
The program’s founder Vern Kennedy, an instructor at the college’s School of Business, hopes that the program will provide much-needed opportunity for under-privileged students.
“It’s been a wonderful experience for us and the Centennial College student volunteers,” he says in a video promoting Play It Smart on the program’s webpage.
Just like last year, kids enrolled in the program will be bussed from Malvern Town Centre to Centennial College’s Ashtonbee campus for 10 Saturdays each in the fall and winter.
Because the program worked so well in its pilot season it was a no-brainer to bring it back for another year, according to college spokesperson Mark Toljagic.
“I hope that the program continues to act as a form of outreach undertaken by the college and gives disadvantaged kids an opportunity to further their studies,” he said.
In an interview with The Courier last year, Kennedy expressed optimism that the program would continue despite some complications.
“We’re learning as we go,” he said. “It’s time consuming but very rewarding. We see these young kids learning, not just academic, but social stuff as well.”
For more information on Play It Smart, please contact 416-289-5000, ext 3273.
