Please support these extraordinary people

Dancehall of Canada This is a group of extraordinary young men who are passionate about their roots and Dancehall, Using the arts as a platform to educate and share their culture as well as to make a meaningful contribution to the Dancehall legacy.Please Vote

Look at what these extraordinary people are doing!

DANCEHALL MADNESS INTENSIVE

Brandon (Bizzy Boom) Owusu has teamed up with a group of amazing dancehall ambassadors to present Dancehall Madness Intensive, at Gotta Dance Studio, Saturday May 30^th at 1:00 PM. What is really unique about this mix of talent is the variety of flavours they will be serving up at this all you can eat buffet of Dancehall.

I would encourage everyone and their Grandma to come support these extraordinary people as they lock down the City of Toronto for one day only. I cannot even imagine being anywhere else but Dancehall Madness Intensive, where I would be able to learn from not just one but four of the best Dancehall Choreographers like Bizzy Boom, Bling Kadillac, Venom and Tabby Rockstar, who all have an undying passion for the dancehall culture and the dance.

This is anticipated to be a sold out event. Come with a large appetite for knowledge and lots of water, and be prepared to have the time of your life, because this Dancehall Madness will be Intense. See you there.

Extraordinary People / Raymund Ong

C4murals

Raymund Ong is an extraordinary young man and a cancer survivor, who through his adversities gained strength through actively getting involved in the community using art as a platform to connect with others in sharing their stories. Raymund was diagnosed with Leukemia back in 2007, developed a blood clot on his brain during chemotherapy, which devastatingly led to a stroke which paralyzed the left side of his body. After completing treatment and physiotherapy in 2011, he broke the cartilage on his left knee a year later.

C4 Supports Gilda's Club Greater Toronto

Through it all he founded C4Murals (originally named C4 Mural Project) in 2011 after meeting with Youth in Time's founder Paulene Harvey and the Art for Cancer Foundation founder Cid Palacio. The latter two had partnered to create an art workshop for young adults affected by cancer and I was inspired by the power of self-expression through art. What is really remarkable about Raymund is he felt compelled to reach out to the community through the love for arts, and give others the opportunity to share their stories, to gain support, to build confidence, to learn new skills and to feel a sense of community.

Raymund Ong - Doves of Hope

Raymund is an advocate that shares his story with the hopes of inspiring others, strengthening hope for others, mentoring others and constantly creating awareness. He is a trained public speaker that works in the community through Youth in Time and C4Murals, he is passionate, charismatic and exhibit exceptional work ethics.

Meet Raymund Lee: Cancer Survivor, College Student

He is currently studying Life Skills Coaching to facilitate healthy lifestyle programming, an ESL Peer Leader, Student Life Ambassador at George Brown College, Raymund is a true example of extraordinary people, hats off to you Raymund and continue your amazing work while inspiring others.

Raymund Ong

TB.

Urban Arts / Extraordinary People

Recently I shared a story on Brandon Owusu, “The Positive Rebel” and the amazing work he is doing in the community; as an example of extraordinary people who are doing extraordinary things while making a difference in the lives of others. This time around I would like to make special mention to the incubator of extraordinary people, a place that is the true definition of community, a place that when I immigrated to Canada, just like most of us searched for but could not find, a place that is making a colossal impact on the lives of young people and community on a whole, a place known as Urban Arts.

#UrbanArts is a non-profit Community Arts Council focused on enhancing neighbourhoods by engaging youth in community development through the arts. UrbanArts initiates arts activities that bring people together in central-west Toronto and city wide located at 5 Bartonville Avenue East (Weston Rd. & Ray Ave.) Toronto (Mount Dennis) M6M 2B1.  UrbanArts is an incubator for local arts, with a range of programs led by professional artists in visual art, theatre, dance and music. Their mandate is to promote, engage and facilitate cultural and community development opportunities between artists, arts organizations, community members and community organizations. UrbanArts is led by a team of Extraordinary People such as Marlene Mckintosh - Executive Director, Ify Chiwetelu – Arts Program Manager, Joan Lillian Wilson – Communications Coordinator, Freeway Freddy – Beats.Mind.Movement Coordinator, Alva Paul-Larbi – Dancer’s Boot Camp Facilitator, Ervin Bempong – Young Men of Honour Program Facilitator and also Brandon “Bizzy” Owusu – Tun Up Tuesday facilitator.

UrbanArts team is doing a phenomenal job in providing a platform for the community to grow by empowering young people, enabling talents to be realized, mentoring future leaders, creating role models, appreciating and encouraging each other and changing lives. UrbanArts and other programs like it is relevant and should be supported. Hats off to all who made it possible (Partners) I encourage everyone to drop in and check out what is happening at UrbanArts and to encourage as well as support the movement…………………Looking forward to my next visit.

TB.

Extraordinary People / #NoHairSelfie / Paulene Harvey

Paulene Harvey

First off thank you all for following this Blog, I felt compelled to share my thoughts in this format, to highlight those Extraordinary People that are impacting the lives of others in a profound way and those whom I have had the distinguished pleasure of meeting. As mentioned in my first article on Paulene Harvey with regards to her latest endeavor, which is taking part in the #nohairselfie campaign. #NoHairSelfie is an initiative of the Princess Margaret Cancer Center to create awareness and support for Canadians undergoing cancer treatment by shaving your head, or daring someone else to shave theirs on February 4, World Cancer Day.

Let us support the movement by sponsoring Paulene Harvey as she take the challenge as part of the #NoHairSelfie campaign. We all have someone directly or indirectly affected by Cancer and we all know there is hope, there is also many who are survivors of this dreaded disease, thanks to the incredible research and incredible work done to beat cancer. The #NoHairSelfie event will take place Wednesday, February 4, 2015 at11 a.m. at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre 7th Floor Atrium. The #NoHairSelfie fundraising campaign is attracting hair-ticipants worldwide who are willing to actually or virtually shave their heads and post their selfies on February 4 – World Cancer Day.

It is incredibly noble of Paulene Harvey to volunteer to be a part of such a monumental event, what makes it so close to home is Paulene is also one of those living with cancer and for that we honor you, this is truly extraordinary. To find out a bit more about Paulene Harvey and here involvement and her personal story, check out her interview on the Dr. Vibe Show The Dr Vibe Show-Paulene Harvey and Ingrid Atyeo interview. And to learn a bit more about the event please check out the link http://www.nohairselfie.com/

TB

Extraordinary People / Brandon Owusu

Bizzy Boom

Brandon Owusu or Bizzy as he is affectionately known (based on his extremely busy schedule) is another example of the extraordinary people who are doing extraordinary things in the community while making a difference in the lives of others. Bizzy is a young man who is passionate about the arts and humanity itself, which validates his purpose, with a healthy appetite for the abundance of knowledge combined with a never-ending desire to share.  Bizzy describes himself as “A Positive Rebel, who does whatever it takes to make good things happen for the better good and seeks no rewards from helping others”

Bizzy officially started dancing at the age of 17 through the inspiration of his big brother Bryan, after seeing his brother whom he adores dancing in a dance crew, seeing his brother dance made dance really cool to him. Faced with his own insecurities and challenges at that stage in his life, realized that he had to also make some major changes in his life, he was so inspired and determined that he did whatever he had to do to become a member of the Rated Inc. Dance crew. With that same determination he continued to challenge himself in every facet of his life, the dance industry was watching  and as a result he was blessed with the opportunity to work with numerous Choreographers such as Luther Brown, Jae Blaze, Mark Samuels, Shameka Blake, Hollywood Jade, Esie Mensah and Jasmyn Fyffe to name a few.  Not to mention the incredible accolades achieved and his body of work to show for it.

What makes Bizzy an Extraordinary Person is his selfless commitment to making a difference in the lives of others, using dance as a platform to connect, engage, and excavate creativity in a genuine and caring way in so doing he personifies the quality of a leader, by mentoring other to lead. He is actively involved in facilitating numerous dance programs such as Tun-Up Tuesdays as part of the Urban Arts Dance initiative which has had a profound impact on every person who come out every Tuesday. It is totally awesome. http://urbanartstoronto.org/ be sure to check out what’s happening at Urban Arts the home of extraordinary people. Congratulations Bizzy on a job well done, continue to inspire others and stay humble, you are really an extraordinary person.

TB

Extraordinary People / Paulene Harvey Doing Extraordinary Things

Paulene Harvey              

Too often the deeds of extraordinary people who have had a profound impact on the lives of the people they have touched  go unnoticed. Is it because these individuals selflessly give of themselves for the bigger good of others and not for any personal gain or recognition? I have had the pleasure of meeting some extraordinary people who have inspired so many people including myself. They take pride in making a difference, and will go the extra mile by instinctually putting the needs of others before themselves.  

One such person is affectionately known as Ms. Paulene Harvey, she is part owner and operator of Big It Up International. Ms. Harvey founded the Youth in Time Organization as a result of a brief encounter with a 17 year old cancer patient, who made the statement “I feel as if my time is up” this had such a profound impact on Ms. Harvey reacted by immediately reassuring the young girl that her time was not over, it is now.  Moved by this encounter Ms. Harvey felt compelled to do something, an would later conceptualize the Youth in Time organization to provide a voice all young people whose lives have been impacted by cancer, providing them a platform to express themselves in an artistic and meaningful way as well as the opportunity to share their story.  

Ms. Harvey now needed a home to facilitate the program, she approached Gilda’s Club of Greater Toronto, located at 24 Cecil St, Toronto, with her vision who immediately offered her the space to do just that. Gilda’s Club of Greater Toronto is a Non-Profit Organization who offers a wide range of networking and support groups, educational and therapeutic workshops, expert speakers, recreational and social activities, all free of charge, all under one roof, all year long. Members are also free to spend some peaceful time alone in any of their cozy wellness rooms. Donations of money, time and talent have kept Gilda’s Club of Greater Toronto open since 2001. http://www.gildasclubtoronto.org/What's_Happening/News_Page/Teens_Tell_Their_Stories.aspx 

This is only one example of the extraordinary things that extraordinary people such as Ms. Harvey has done to impact the lives of others and for that she should be applauded. Her most resent mission is participating in the #NoHairSelfie movement of the Princes Margaret Cancer Center, where she will along with others, participate by shaving their heads  or by daring others to shave theirs on February 4, World Cancer Day, for the cause. http://www.nohairselfie.com/ please stay tuned as we follow the extraordinary and profound gestures that people such as Ms. Harvey do.  

TB.