Tuesday, 30 December 2014
TorontotheBetter receives go-ahead for first in Canada community development through sports initiative in Jane/Keeele/Finch area
The international Johan Cruyff Foundation - http://www.cruyff-foundation.org/en/ - named after Dutch soccer legend Johan Cruyff, has approved TorontotheBetter's proposal (through its Red Panamericana partnership with the Hispanic Development Council) to build Canada's first Cruyff soccer Court on land near Finch Avenue and Keele Street provided by TorontotheBetter partner Toronto Azzurri youth Sports Villa - http://www.torontothebetter.net/2taysv.htm. This is a neighbourhood heavily populated by two of Toronto's core soccer-friendly communities:Latinos and Italians. Centered around the Toronto Azzurri clubhouse, The Toronto Cruyff Court is designed to be an inclusive non-elite community hub that will generate recreational, economic and cultural opportunities in an area of Toronto in many ways historically under-served. Red Panamericana has been working for approval of its proposal since receiving endorsement for a Jane/Keele/Finch corridor Cruyff Court from Jane-Finch Community Legal Services, three years ago.
See below for the Cruyff Foundation fair play principles:
A Cruyff Court and Schoolyard14 are meeting places, where themes such as respect for each other, health, integration, development and playing together are central. Those themes are based on the 14 rules of Johan Cruyff.
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Monday, 29 December 2014
Is Toronto's Now Magazine a Social enterprise or "Benefit Corporation"? - sex ads are not the problem
Much to do recently about Now Magazine's presumably lucrative sex business advertising trade. Whatever you think about the relative persuasiveness of Now representatives' defence of their sex ad business it's a bit of a stale and old-fashioned discussion insofar as the advertisers and their customers have voted with their money. The rest is history we may say. If we don't like it we should all do something else. The real problem with Now is not sex ads and but its ever growing attachment to consumerism. Every page screams "buy shit" whatever flavour you choose. Inevitably, then, Now is in the hands of its advertisers, whatever their take on our right to what we want with our bodies or our minds and spirits. Call it a radically mixed message. Now Magazine - a social ebusiness/B-corp (U.S. lingo)? Looks more business than social.
Thursday, 4 December 2014
Fair World Project says No Thanks! to Keurig Green Mountain fair trade challenge grant
Dana Geffner, Executive Director of the Fair World Project, is highly critical of a $10 Million challenge grant to Fair Trade USA...
"Our call to potential funders of FTUSA is let's not unlock this $10 million dollar "investment." Let's instead direct funding to organizations like the Small Producer Symbol whose very mission is to promote small-scale farmer fair trade because labelers like FTUSA failed them. Or let's invest in groups fighting against more NAFTAs and promoting fair trade policies that will allow small-scale farmers to stay on their land, producing food for both their community and northern consumers."
"Our call to potential funders of FTUSA is let's not unlock this $10 million dollar "investment." Let's instead direct funding to organizations like the Small Producer Symbol whose very mission is to promote small-scale farmer fair trade because labelers like FTUSA failed them. Or let's invest in groups fighting against more NAFTAs and promoting fair trade policies that will allow small-scale farmers to stay on their land, producing food for both their community and northern consumers."
There Is A "Whole Food" Alternative - but make sure it's not anti-worker
Whole Foods Market is not the last would-be saviour of North American consumers found to be anti-worker but founder John Mackey's "we're not anti-union, we're beyond-unions" might go down as the most arrogant and patronizing of slogans. Check http://www.thenation.com/blog/190681/surprise-whole-foods-not-worlds-greatest-employer for the latest on Whole Foods "revolutionary" approach to their workers.
