Guru Gobind Singh Children's Foundation » Latest News

Annual Seniors Trip

jasjit — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 20:24:59 +0000

July 24, 2010, the Guru Gobind Singh Children’s Foundation held its annual seniors trip to Niagara Falls, Ontario. Thirty three highly excited seniors along with twelve volunteers boarded the bus which left from Scarborough Gurdwara early in the morning. The seniors were surprised and happy to visit our first stop, Burlington Gurdwara, which many of the seniors have never visited. Afterwards, the seniors enjoyed a delicious lunch as they watched large ships passing through the Welland Canal. Soon the seniors found themselves driving though Downtown Niagara Falls with the Falls in view. The seniors spent an hour enjoying the Falls and the spectacular view. The seniors also spent time at the Niagara Botanical Gardens and the Floral Clock before heading down the QEW to Burlington Gurdwara. At the Gurdwara the seniors ate snacks and enjoyed warm tea before listening to kirtan. All the seniors received a small token of appreciation from the volunteers of the Guru Gobind Singh Children’s Foundation before arriving home at Scarborough Gurdwara. All of the seniors fancied the trip and were grateful to the volunteers for their sewa. We would like to thank all the volunteers who participated and truly made the trip enjoyable for all the seniors.

11th Anniversary

jasjit — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 22:49:56 +0000

Today, July 17, 2010, is the 11th Anniversary of the Guru Gobind Singh Children’s Foundation. Eleven years ago the volunteers of the GGSCF stood on Parliament Hill, at the completion of the Toronto to Ottawa run. One year ago, the GGSCF volunteers were back on Parliament Hill on the way to completing the Children’s Run Across Canada. What’s next?

CanSikh Tournament Change Collection

jasjit — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 18:28:06 +0000

July 11, 2010, volunteers of the GGSCF attended the annual CanSikh Kabaddi Tournament which took place at Wildwood Park in Malton. The tournament which takes place over the course of two days has been attended by the Foundation for the past several years and spectators often contribute generously to the change collection. Those who turned out to watch enjoyed both the kabaddi and the samosas, chick peas, naan and jalabees – many of which the Foundation volunteers helped to serve. There was a break in all the excitement when a sudden downpour struck and many sought refuge under tents and trailers; at one point, there was even hail and strong winds that came down on the attendees. But the weather did not dampen any spirits as the tournament continued. Altogether, the Foundation managed to collect over $2,400 which will go towards the children it sponsors throughout the world. Thank you to all those who contributed; a special thanks goes out to the volunteers who came out despite the FIFA World Cup having coincided with the event.

Canada Day Celebrations

jasjit — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 03:47:59 +0000

July 1, 2010, the GGSCF took part in the Canada Day celebrations at the parade in Scarborough. About 70 children/youth/parents took part in front of hundreds of on lookers. The GGSCF handed out candy and balloons to young children along the route. All were very happy to see other children giving treats. The Sanjha Virsa Academy also had children doing bhangra along the route that was much enjoyed by the multi-cultural crowd who enjoyed the music, the traditional Punjabi costumes and the dancing. Gathka was also performed by the youth from Scarborough Gurdwara and some of the children from the G.S.United Soccer Club also took part. The parade was very much enjoyed by all those who participated as they saw some of the other participants, clowns, bands, vintage cars and lots of decorated floats. Happy Birthday Canada!

Race Against Racism

jasjit — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 03:55:56 +0000

June 19, 2010, Peel Regional Police held the 10th annual Race Against Racism at Mississauga Valley Community Centre Park. More participants took part than last year from all the different ethnic cultural communities that make up Peel Region. The 5km run/walk was enjoyed by everyone from professional runners to ordinary citizens who jogged/walked the route in support of this cause. Mayor Hazel McCallion started the race and was joined by theDeputy Police Chief. Both explained the need to fight racism and the Mayor congratulated the Police on having so many Police Officers that represent the multicultural makeup of the community. Over 700 Police Officers in Peel Region speak another language other than English. After the race everyone enjoyed food/drinks and entertainment/music by local community groups. The Guru Gobind Singh Children’s Foundation has been taking part in this event for five years and many of the participants this year also took part in the Children’s Run Across Canada last year.

Young Achievers Award 2010

jasjit — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 23:14:11 +0000

June 12, 2010, the Guru Gobind Singh Children’s Foundation and member’s of the Children’s Run Across Canada team were invited to attend the Indo-Canadian Chamber of Commerce Dinner at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The members of the foundation enjoyed the evening’s entertainment and speeches. The ICCC presented awards to recognize the achievements of Indo-Canadians. The Guru Gobind Singh Children’s Foundation was awarded the Young Achievers Award for 2010 in recognition of the Children’s Run Across Canada held in 2009. Those members who attended were proud to be recognized by influential individuals of the Indo-Canadian community. Special thanks to Gary Singh, Mohinder Singh, and Ajmer Sidhu for providing tables to those foundation members who attended.

Charity Hoops

jasjit — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 23:19:01 +0000

June 6th, 2010, the Guru Gobind Singh Children’s Foundation held their sixth annual 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament at Turner Fenton Secondary School in Brampton. Teams competed in three divisions of 15-17, 18-20, and 21+ years of age. The event attracted over 90 participants for the charity tournament. The three divisions were very competitive and made for an entertaining day of basketball for everyone. In our first division of 15-17, the final came down to Brampton Ballers and No Names. The final went to the finish as Brampton Ballers were able score in the final seconds to send the game to sudden death overtime. The overtime period was very defensive but the Brampton Ballers prevailed claiming the division title. In our second division of 18-20, an energetic team named Martingrove featuring Sandalwood came away with the division crown. Their ability to dominate their division allowed them the opportunity to participate in our third division of 21+. The team fared well against the rest of the competition and made it to the finals against Team Khalsa. The Martingrove featuring Sandalwood team had the opportunity to take the double, two division titles. Everyone in the gym was excited to watch the finals, allowing the two teams to take centre stage. Both teams showcased their skills and talents in back and forth affair. In the end, Team Khalsa’s experience took over the younger team of Martingrove featuring Sandalwood. Team Khalsa were able to take the championship in the 21+ division. The GGSCF would like to thank the volunteers who helped make this event possible and all of the participants who took part in our sixth annual 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament.

Northbay School Visit

jasjit — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 22:53:21 +0000

May 27th 2010, students from a school at North Bay visited the Gurdwara as part of their World Religon class. Their teacher, John Hetherington, has been bringing students down for many years. The students enjoy their visit with us more than the other places they visit. Comments like how friendly and welcoming we are as a group was a feedback from previous visitors. They like the langar and of course eating off steel plates while seated on the floor is undoubtedly a novel experience.

This time we were visited by 21 children and 2 teachers, plus a student teacher. They reached the Gurdwara at 11.15 a.m. We started by welcoming them, and once they were all ready, we went to the main hall. On special request, Kirtan was on and they listened for a short while. They were given “Parshad,” and then led down to the Langar Hall. Once seated, langar was served, which consisted of rice, channas, roti, yogurt and barfi. Tea was offered, and it was enjoyed by many. Some of these children had probably not seen people of our colour, so chances of having tasted our food was rather remote. After langar there was a question answer session. They were really glad to have the opportunity to talk to Parmjit Flora.

Andrew Singh Kooner gave it his best for the Title.

jasjit — Wed, 26 May 2010 19:38:32 +0000

May 15th, 2010, two-time Olympian Andrew Singh Kooner took centre of the ring at the Powerade Centre in Brampton for United Promotions professional boxing series titled “Undisputed”. Andrew Singh Kooner competed against Jose Silveira for the North American Boxing Association’s Bantam Weight (NABA) Title in the main event of the evening. Andrew was cheered by many of his supporters at the event, including the youth of the Guru Gobind Singh Children’s Foundation who attended to support their local Olympian. (Andrew is generously donating a portion of the ticket sales to the Guru Gobind Singh Children’s Foundation.) This marked the first time Andrew was fighting in his hometown of Toronto, and the majority of the crowd was in his favour. It was a great evening of fights, which was capped off by the main event for the NABA Title. Andrew came into the ring to a standing ovation by his supporters, chanting “Andy! Andy! Andy!” In the first round of the fight, Andrew and Jose were cautious at the start, but both fighters seemed to loosen up as the round progressed. Through the first three rounds, Andrew was gaining more and more momentum by the end of each round. However, Andrews’s night ended in disappointment as the fight was stopped at the end of the fourth round and decided by judges scorecard. It was an accidental headbutt at the end of the fourth round by Jose, opening a gash above Andrew’s left eye which ended the fight. The medical doctor examined Andrew at the end of the round and determined it was not safe for him to continue to fight, as the gash above his left eye was too deep to stop the bleeding. The judges scored the fight 39-37, 38-38 and 39-37 in a majority decision in favour of Jose Silveira, claiming the NABA Title. We wish Andrew all the best in the future.

World Harmony Run

jasjit — Sun, 23 May 2010 05:39:38 +0000

May 23, 2010, members of the Guru Gobind Singh Children’s Foundation welcomed runners of the World Harmony Run team to Scarborough Gurdwara. The World Harmony Run was founded by Sri Chinmoy in 1987 in an effort to promote international friendship and understanding. The Run takes place in over 100 countries, spanning 6 continents, all around the world. A few members of the Foundation met with runners of the World Harmony Run and ran down Middlefield Road to Scarborough Gurdwara. The run was followed by a presentation by the World Harmony Run team and was concluded with snacks in the langer hall. Afterwards, everyone met outside the Gurdwara and together, ran to Steeles and Middlefield Road. The Foundation gave a final farewell to the runners as they disembarked on their remarkable journey. Members of the Foundation were delighted to participate in the World Harmony Run and enjoyed the experience. The Guru Gobind Singh Children’s Foundation would like to wish the World Harmony Run team the best on their journey to promote global harmony.