I hope the school year is off to a great start!
My name is Akosua Matthews and I’m also starting a new school year again - this time as a first year law student at the University of Toronto.
I’ve recently started volunteering at Justice For Children and Youth (JCFY) and will be at JCFY for the rest of the academic year. How did I hear about Justice For Children and Youth and what will I be doing at JCFY?
Well, I was fortunate enough to be placed at Justice for Children and Youth through another great organization called
Pro Bono Students Canada (PBSC).
PBSC is a national student organization that engages law students in volunteer legal work across Canada. PBSC is a very popular organization and draws approximately 2,000 law students from across Canada to get involved and volunteer their time. It gives law students a chance to develop our legal skills and provide some assistance to various organisations.
At JFCY, I will be responsible for updating the Facebook Page and the JFCY blog to engage youth (you!) with the legal issues that affect your lives. I will also be assisting with the Public Legal Education (PLE) committee which brings together youth and adults from various backgrounds to create communications (YouTube videos, pamphlets, newsletters, facebook, blogs, etc…) to inform young people of their legal rights.
Youth can get involved with JCFY by volunteering for the PLE Committee. The PLE committee meets 1-2 times per month on a weekday evening at the JFCY office (415 Yonge Street, Suite 1203). Food and subway tokens are provided. To get involved, contact JFCY at 416-920-1633 and ask for Dre Luey.
In the meantime, I would love to receive input on general legal issues affecting youth that JCFY could provide some information on. Feel free to comment below and post general topics to help us generate ides. Of course, any issues of a personal matter, particular to your situation, you should feel free to contact JFCY directly to speak to a lawyer. We cannot provide legal advice over the internet.
I look forward to hearing your input and perhaps seeing you in person should you decide to volunteer with our PLE Committee. Stay tuned for more regular posts on our Facebook Page and JCFY Blog!
Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy the long weekend!
JFCY says a big thank you to University of Toronto law student Akosua Matthews for her amazing work in coordinating the Public Legal Education Committee for the past seven months. Akosua is a first year law student volunteer from the Pro Bono Students Canada program at U of T law school. Her efforts have helped to improve and expand the PLE Committee and its projects.
