His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales’s Seeing is Believing Tour of Twelve Canadian Business Leaders to Visit SKETCH Working Arts
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 1st, 2013
Toronto– The Prince’s Charities Canada Seeing is Believing Tour has invited twelve Canadian Business Leaders to visit SKETCH’s new creative hub, now under construction, on Thursday, October 3rd, 2013. The leaders will converse with youth to learn how SKETCH’s community arts programming eliminates barriers and provides equitable opportunities for young people living homeless or on the margins.
SKETCH Working Arts for Street-Involved and Homeless Youth has been chosen as one of the two stops on the 2013 Prince’s Charities Seeing is Believing Tour. The program is designed to give business leaders a clearer understanding of how they can help create solutions to a range of social issues. Following the SKETCH visit, the tour will convene at RBC headquarters where Visit Leader, Gay Mitchell, Deputy Chairman of RBC Wealth Management, will lead the discussion on the issues facing SKETCH, and challenge the leaders to take action. Outcomes can include mentorships, guidance on business and social-enterprise development, and new funding strategies. The potential partnerships will expand SKETCH’s capabilities in providing arts-and-skills programming and equitable opportunities for youth living on the margins.
As SKETCH prepares to begin the renovations on its new creative space, the potential opportunities that could emerge from this are timely. “This opportunity enables us to build strategic partnerships with like-minded business leaders for long-term collective impact. The potential alliances demonstrate that leaders are willing to take a risk on creative and local youth-led change initiatives. Together we can break down barriers that exist between the not-for-profit and for-profit worlds to align our goals and connect around the things that matter to all of us: the health and the well-being of all young people” says Rudy Ruttimann, Executive Director of SKETCH.
Once construction of SKETCH’s 7,500-square-foot multi-discipline creative hub is completed next spring, SKETCH youth will find endless opportunities to collaborate with creative entrepreneurs and mentors, gain employable training, and launch their own enterprises. “When SKETCH has its own space, it’ll be a hub for so many different creative people to work, create, and build a community. I think every town needs a SKETCH, everywhere!” says Spewky, SKETCH Youth Leader. The new space will not only expand on the arts and skill-building opportunities SKETCH has been providing youth for over 17 years, but will also introduce new youth-led social enterprises and education accreditation programs.
About The Prince’s Charities Canada:
Prince’s Charities Canada (PCC) is a registered charity that expands and enhances the Canadian charitable work of His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. PCC is focused on The Prince of Wales’s own core interests, including improving the lives of disadvantaged youth, education, responsible business, improving the built environment, regeneration of heritage and environmental sustainability.
PCC supports existing Canadian charities already connected to The Prince of Wales and facilitates new opportunities for charitable organizations in Canada and the U.K. to work together.
About SKETCH:
Founded in 1996, SKETCH is recognized locally, provincially, and nationally for its unique, capacity-focused approach to youth engagement and organizing through the arts. As a community arts initiative, SKETCH engages young people who live homeless or on the margins to experience the transformative power of the arts, to build leadership and self-sufficiency in the arts, and to cultivate social and environmental change through the arts.
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The visit takes place Thursday, October 3rd, 2013 from 10:30 a.m – 12:30 p.m. SKETCH is located at 180 Shaw St, at the corner of Argyle Street. Neighbourhood street parking is available. Please contact Hayley Hoskins at 416.845.6524 for media arrangements day of.
For direct interviews with SKETCH Executive Director, Rudy Ruttimann, contact rudy@sketch.ca or call 416-516-1559 ext. 32.
For other media inquiries contact Hayley Hoskins, Public Relations Administrator, at hayley@sketch.ca or call (416) 516-1559 ext. 34.
For interviews with business leaders or to learn more about The Prince of Wales’s Canadian charitable work, contact Matthew Rowe, Manager – Charitable Operations matthew.rowe@princescharities.ca or call (416) 576-3969
