On Oct. 9 Casole received the 2013 Kids Now School Champion Award during an evening celebration at the RBC Centre in Toronto’.
“There is no question it is quite an honour,” said Casole. “I don’t think I did that much but it is an honour to be acknowledged by these people.”
Founded in 1999, Kids Now is a charitable organization that offers students in Grades 7 and 8 the opportunity to take part in a free 12-week after-school mentoring program. During group workshops, which usually consist of 10 students, Kids Now volunteer mentors help youth develop a sense of self-worth and confidence empowering participants to engage in social justice initiatives.
It is this sense of shaping the leaders of tomorrow that sparked Casole’s interest in the program two years ago when he introduced it to St. Luigi Catholic School.
“The program is one of the nicest things I’ve ever seen,” said Casole. “As an educator what it does for me is it gives a chance to my students to go that extra step, just pass over that next line to be the leaders that I want them to be.”
During the two years at the elementary school in Toronto’s west end, Casole’s Kids Now students raised about $800 for Megan’s Walk, were able to provide slightly less than $5,000 in support of Village in Africa and were featured on Global News’ Making a Difference for their anti-bullying advocacy.
“These students took initiatives right throughout the year and actually did things for the community,” said Casole. “Would they have done it before, I don’t think so. I don’t think they had the confidence but this program has given them that confidence.”
Having seen the success of the program at St. Luigi’s, Casole plans to bring the program to his new school, D’Arcy McGee Catholic School.
“I have a lot more opportunities here because it is a bigger school,” he said. “It makes a difference, there is no question, it gives them the edge to become leaders ... and kids need to step forward and be the leaders that they can be. I am honestly looking forward to starting this year and parents are already on board so it is a go, go, go.”
And while Casole passes the credit onto the program, the students and the mentors, Kids Now president and founder Janet King pushes the credit back onto him.
“He embraces what we are all about,” said King. “He really wanted the program, the Kids Now program, because he saw this as a wonderful opportunity to develop his kids to the best of his ability. He loves the kids at his school, he works with them like they are his kids and he wants the best for every single one of them.”
Five students were also recognized as winners of the State Farm Kids Now Awards. Of those four hail from Catholic schools in the Greater Toronto Area: Xavier Sakhu from Mississauga’s St. Hilary Catholic School, Racven Fraser from Brampton’s St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Catholic School, Meghan Singson from Toronto’s St. Barnabas Catholic School and Toronto’s St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School’s Helena Gervasio.
“We’re creating new leaders and I’m very proud of that,” Casole said.