Helping Homeless Youth Get Off the Streets
On Saturday May 21st, hundreds of youth gathered at Nathan Phillips Square, united by the purpose of combatting youth homelessness. Sporting Entripy-made black custom t-shirts reading “Making a Difference in the Lives of Homeless Youth”, these young people were part of a mission to combat youth homelessness in Toronto. According to Trek for Teens, there are an estimated 10,000 youth living on the streets of Toronto every year.
Who are the Trek for Teens Foundation?
The Trek for Teens Foundation is a not-for-profit organization created to raise funds and awareness for homeless youth. The Foundation hosts concerts, fashion shows, film festivals, conferences, dance workshops and community outreach events. To date, the Foundation has raised over $31,000 for homeless youth.
The Event: Trek for Teens
This amazing-race style event draws hundreds of high school participants who compete in a series of team-oriented challenges throughout downtown Toronto. Participants are given a “passport” which they get stamped at various locations. They might have to build a shelter or sing a song in order to get their stamp.
The event includes fair activities at Nathan Phillips Square and a concert in the evening. All participants also receive volunteer hours for competing, which go towards their Ontario Secondary School Diploma requirements. Participants collect pledges, the proceeds of which go to youth shelters including Covenant House Toronto, Horizons for Youth and Youth Without Shelter.
How Entripy Helps
Entripy has provided custom toques and printed t-shirtsfor Trek for Teens for the past several years. This custom apparel is sold at Trek for Teens events to help raise funds to support the organization’s mission of helping homeless youth. The custom t-shirts provided by Entripy help draw attention to the event. As you can imagine, hundreds of youth running around the city, in their personalized t-shirts, generate a large amount of interest.
“It’s a great way to attract local passersby to the Nathan Phillips Square and to help spread awareness or raise funds,” says Alex Wichert, Director of Media & Advertising for the Trek for Teens Foundation. “When teams compete in the race, they don’t have time to stop and speak to those wondering what all the excitement is about. Having a branded t-shirt helps and increases the collective cognizance of our logo.”
