DECA Connects, our social justice group, flagship annual initiative happens over many months and is in two parts. Part A is organizing our Young Leader's Scholarship, which we do in partnership with Scadding Court and others. Part B is fundraising for the scholarship by holding an elaborate community ping pong tournament throughout the month of June dubbed "Table Tennis for Tuition", or TT4T for short.
On June 22 under the threat of rain that did not happen, the final matches were played at East Lynn Park. Photographer Stephen Cassie was on hand to snap some pics and in the end, the winning teams were crowned.
Congratulations to all teams who came out to play! And the winners are….
Winners |Competitive League:
Team Loveboat
Winners|Rec league:
Table teasers
Not to take away from the winners' well-deserved glory, but the results go beyond just who won. The tournament raised almost $1500, blew our $1000 goal out of the water!
You met DECA's 2017 Scholarship winner, Sal Sabila, in this blog post. On the night of the finals, Sal also sent remarks to be read out. Here is an excerpt:
This scholarship means a lot to me and my family. Opportunities such these inspire us to keep doing our works despite the obstacles on the path. Today is the end of my high school career and I feel like all of sudden, i have so much responsibilities, but also, it makes me happy to think that organizations such as DECA work hard to put smile on the students' face who are struggling financially to pay for universities. With all that being said, I hope you all had lots of fun and again, I am so sorry that I couldn't be here with you all today. I don't play Ping Pong myself in fact, I tried it only once, but I sure had a lot of fun.
We might not be all winners, but we can all be change makers. Please make sure to keep smiling and keep inspiring all of us.
Sal is right. We can all be change makers.
Luckily for all of us, the DECA Connects team who organized #TT4T are working for change right here in our neighbourhood. Huge shout out and thanks to:
Judit Alcade
Sarah Brown
Imelda Chan
Sarah Davidson
Corey Diamond
Elizabeth Dove
Trell Hunter
Catherine Porter
Jenn Scott
Stephanie Vorsterman
DECA Social Media Team
Thanks also to the local businesses for donations and help with prizes and services:
Face to Face Games
Gerrard Pizza
E-Clips Hair Salon
Coal Mine Theatre
Great Lakes Brewery
Firkin on Danforth
Stephen Cassie (photography services)
Corbin Creative (designer)
Ace Awards (trophies)
And thanks to everyone to played, donated and came out to cheer.
No photo can truly capture how much fun was had overall, but these action shots should give you a sense of it:
