Planning and running a three-on-three basketball tournament isn’t a typical work placement for students in NC’s Child and Youth Care program. But Samantha Bond isn’t lamenting the unique opportunities she got to engage with youth and help them plan the party of a lifetime.
That opportunity came while Bond was completing her work placement with Niagara Regional Housing. The regional housing agency had planned community revitalization efforts in the Manchester Avenue area of St. Catharines, and was looking to plan a celebration event to kick the project off with residents.
NC Child and Youth Care student Samantha Bond (left) and associate dean of Community Services Carol Phillips
Bond engaged area youth in the formation of the event, ensuring the party reflected their interests and pride in their community. Through her dialogue with youth, she discovered a deep-seated love of sport among them. The community has a history of producing world-class athletes like Mohammed Ahmed, who represented Canada in distance running at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, and Abu Kigab, gold medal winner with Team Canada at the FIBA Under-19 world basketball championship in 2017.
Bond helped channel the youth’s passion into the idea for basketball tournament, which became the heart and soul of the event. The tournament included teams from the City of St. Catharines and Mayor Walter Sendzik, the Niagara Regional Police Service, Niagara EMS, St. Catharines Fire Services, and even the Niagara Knights own women’s basketball team, among others. The event also included games, prizes, bouncy castles, touch-a-truck and a community barbecue.
“Everyone seemed to have fun, ” said Bond, who also gave credit for the success of the day to a legion of volunteers, which included Niagara College’s Athletics and Recreation team, who furnished basketballs and other equipment for the event. “We had a wonderful turn out of amazing volunteers; we couldn’t have done this without them.”
Carol Philips, associate dean of Community Services, emphasized Bond’s experience as an example of the community outreach activates that the College integrates into its programming. “Partnering with agencies like NRH through placement opportunities gives students like Sam unique experiential learning opportunities that that truly engage and enrich not only our students’ education, but the Niagara community as well.”
