Playing for Keeps Hub – 2015 Roles & Responsibilities
Updated January, 2015
1. Introduction to Playing for Keeps
Playing for Keeps is an initiative developed to build the capacity of individuals to strengthen
community organizations through their participation as volunteers, which will build the capacity
and vitality of the community. By engaging in play, Playing for Keeps is developing healthier,
more active, and better connected communities towards the 2015 Pan/Parapan American
Games and beyond.
Playing for Keeps is a social legacy of the 2012 Ontario Summers Games in Toronto, and is now a
collaborative program led by more than 35 community organizations, with the Toronto
Foundation as lead partner. Together, we are building social capital through volunteerism and
developing stronger communities, while nurturing a deepened sense of belonging.
Why play? Play gets us outside, connected with others, helps to build trust, and bonds us through
laughter, team spirit and shared experience.
Since 2012, P4K has made it possible for 650 newcomers, youth, and long-time residents to
participate in special training facilitated by George Brown College. The training curriculum
includes civic engagement, leadership, event planning, citizenship, and communications.
Equipped with these new skills, the Volunteer Ambassadors organize “P4K Neighbourhood
Games” in their communities to bring people together across generations to share an
experience, have fun and play. With your P4K Hub’s involvement in 2015 – we will collectively
have trained and stewarded 1,000 Volunteer Ambassadors through P4K.
The concept of P4K came from the community, and the initiative uses the principles of
community development to provide pathways and opportunities for residents to become
community leaders. P4K is building the capacity of individuals to strengthen community
organizations through their participation as volunteers, which will build the capacity and vitality
of the community.
Playing for Keeps is a collaboration of many including:
 Over 35 community organizations and over 650 Playing for Keeps Volunteer
Ambassadors - newcomers, youth and long-time residents across the Greater Toronto
Area,
 Over 400 people who attended Playing for Keeps design workshops in Ajax, Toronto
and Hamilton, and
 Over 50 people on the 2012 Ontario Summer Games Legacies Committee, who
developed program ideas in response to design workshops;
 And 17 P4K Hub organizations that are the current champions and program delivery
groups across Toronto.
The goals of Playing for Keeps are to:
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Build awareness about the 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games and provide
opportunities for developing social legacies,
Provide pathways and opportunities for residents to become more active, better
connected, and leaders in their communities,
Provide skills training and build capacity of newcomers, youth and long-time
residents,
Provide additional ongoing transferrable and marketable skills, and
Support volunteers to see themselves as hosts of a city they love.
The measures of success are:
 Improved participation in physical and cultural activities,
 Strengthened community bonding and belonging,
 Improved health, well-being and happiness,
 Reduced social inequities,
 Enhanced youth involvement, and
 Increased civic engagement.
2. Neighbourhood Games
Playing for Keeps Neighbourhood Games are locally organized, playful activities that bring
people together to share an experience, have fun and play. Games can cover a range of
activities such as sports, arts, music and food – everything from basketball tournaments to
hopscotch, from community gardening to grandmas and tot walks, from street dancing to
mega glee clubs.
Neighbourhood Games encourage and support playful activities of all kinds that are fun and
enjoyable, age-neutral and are not about expert talent. Playful activities bring people out into
their communities, to exercise their minds, hands, bodies and hearts. Because communities that
play together are healthier, more connected, more vital.
Since 2012, over 650 Neighbourhood Games have taken place across Toronto, and more than
22,000
participants have taken part in play.
3. Role of Playing for Keeps Hub (P4K Hub) in Playing for Keeps
As a Playing for Keeps Hub, your organization’s role is to:
 Recruit and successfully steward 20-25 newcomers, youth and/or long-time residents
to fully participate in the Playing for Keeps/George Brown College Community
Leadership Training (at no cost to volunteers) NOTE: Based on previous experience,
we recommend that you recruit a minimum of 35 to account for attrition,
 Mentor and steward the trained volunteers to successfully host one Neighbourhood
Game each between the training dates in February and March 2015,
 Continue to mentor a steward community members and Volunteer Ambassadors to
host as many Neighbourhood Games as possible throughout the year,
 Administer micro-grants (details below) for residents and Volunteer Ambassadors to
host Neighbourhood Games (additional micro-grant funds to be distributed),
 Promote and track Neighbourhood Games and ensure that videos are made and
uploaded for each of them on P4K website,
 Ongoing support for Volunteer Ambassadors to continue hosting Neighbourhood
Games, ideally aligned with the timing of P4K galvanizing events:
o P4K Neighbourhood Games hosted in collaboration with P4K Hubs around
Family Day weekend in February,
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P4K Neighbourhood Games aligned with the May-July Pan Am Path Arts Relay
activities,
o July 2015 Pan/Parapan Am Games, and City of Toronto Host City Showcase
activities
o P4K Neighbourhood Games hosted in collaboration with P4K Hubs around
‘Sports Day in Canada’ in November.
Host Try-A-Sport Neighbourhood Games (additional funding is available for these),
Ongoing communication with Volunteer Ambassadors to attend P4K events and
trainings,
Provide eligible students with confirmation of volunteer hours for high school
completion and reference for the trained volunteers,
Distribution of P4K collateral (flags, stickers, etc.),
Involvement in information and strategy-sharing meetings and teleconferences,
Potential use of space at your P4K Hub location for meetings/trainings,
Provide Volunteer Ambassadors with opportunities to become key volunteers within
your organization throughout the year (eg. program volunteer, intern, committee
member, board member, etc.), and
Involvement in evaluation and reporting for P4K.
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As a P4K Hub, you will benefit by:
 Increasing civic engagement and volunteering in your community,
 Connecting your organization and participants to the larger community and the
city-wide Playing for Keeps movement,
 Connecting with local sports organizations who can help you with your
Neighbourhood Games,
 Having the opportunity to participate in the Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan American
Games IGNITE program,
 Providing a unique opportunity to engage your residents, volunteers and clients in
networking, training and further volunteer opportunities through Fusion Strategic Inc.
as well as other free training opportunities,
 Receiving funding to distribute micro-grants to residents to host Neighbourhood
Games,
 Having the opportunity to access funds to help support larger P4K Try-A-Sport
Neighbourhood Games, and
 Generating a roster of trained volunteer leaders within your participant base who
can further contribute to your organization through acquired skills (eg. as a program
volunteer, intern, committee member, board member, etc.).
4. Role of Toronto Foundation in Playing for Keeps
As the lead collaborative partner of the Playing for Keeps initiative, the Toronto Foundation will
provide:
 Funding of $1,000 to P4K Hubs to offer Playing for Keeps micro-grants to Volunteer
Ambassadors who want to host Neighbourhood Games (up to $50 per Game), plus
any additional micro-grant funds needed throughout the year,
 A grant, up to $7,500, to support the P4K Hub’s administration activities including HR,
management and overhead costs associated with all P4K Hub activities for one year,
(2 installments of $3,750, with the amount of the second installment dependent on
the delivery of goals and responsibilities),
 Online infrastructure that allows Neighbourhood Games to be profiled on a map of
Toronto, and
 Playing for Keeps collateral for promotional use in Neighbourhood Games – i.e. game
boards, flags, stickers.
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5. Volunteer Ambassadors
P4K Hubs will identify, recruit and successfully steward 20-25 Volunteer Ambassadors from your
community who can help make Toronto healthier, more active and better connected, through
the power of play. NOTE: Based on previous experience, we recommend that you recruit a
minimum of 35 to account for attrition. In particular, Volunteer Ambassadors should fit one of the
following criteria:
 Youth (16-25 years of age),
 Newcomers (youth, adults and seniors, ideally in Canada for less than five years), or
 Long-time residents.
Volunteer Ambassadors will be provided with the following opportunities:
1. Playing for Keeps/George Brown College Community Leadership Training at no cost
over two weekends (4 days total) on February 7/8 and March 28/29, 2015.
2. Access to micro-grants to host Neighbourhood Games in their communities.
3. Participation in Playing for Keeps volunteer events.
4. Access to optional Playing for Keeps/Personal Leadership Training over a 2-day
session between with Fusion Strategic Inc. at no cost.
5. Ongoing engagement as lead volunteers within your community organization.
Selection criteria for Volunteer Ambassadors:
If the potential volunteer can answer yes to all four of the listed items below, we encourage you
to register them (the participants will need to be able to read and write in English). The following
are the mandatory eligibility criteria that Volunteer Ambassadors must commit to:
 Attend Playing for Keeps/George Brown College Community Leadership Training,
offered at no cost, held over two weekends at the George Brown College
downtown Toronto campus:
o Saturday February 7, 2015
o Sunday February 8, 2015
o Saturday March 28, 2015
o Sunday March 29, 2015
 Volunteer to initiate and deliver one Playing for Keeps Neighbourhood Game in their
own community sometime between the training weekends,
 Participate in Playing for Keeps volunteer events,
 Continue to host Neighbourhood Games through the year, and
 Participate as a volunteer at the P4K Hub.
6. Training - George Brown College & Fusion Strategic Inc.
Volunteer Ambassadors will receive leadership training at no cost through partnerships
developed between Playing for Keeps and George Brown College as well as Fusion Strategic
Inc.
The Playing for Keeps/George Brown College Community Leadership Training in February 7/8
and March 28/29, 2015 will provide modules in:
 Leadership,
 Community Engagement,
 Citizenship and Civic Engagement,
 Event Organizing,
 and Communications
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Through the Playing for Keeps/George Brown College training, Volunteer Ambassadors will be
able to:
o Expand personal and professional networks,
o Learn new skills,
o Gain meaningful volunteer experience,
o Graduate with a certificate of completion from George Brown College, and
o Connect with others from their community and across Toronto.
Additional Fusion Strategic Inc. - Personal Leadership Training will be offered as a 2-day session
each month through the year (April 2015 – November 2015, but not in the summer months)). It is
an optional program for Playing for Keeps Volunteer Ambassadors as well as P4K Hub staff who
want to further increase their leadership skills. The training will provide modules in:
 Identifying natural strengths and capabilities and exploring their full potential as a
leader
 Changing limiting mindsets and behaviours
 Enhancing empathy, emotional intelligence and courageous conversation skills
 Learning strategies for dealing with difficult situations and relationships
 Expanding personal and professional networks
7. Administration of Micro-Grants
The role of P4K Hubs in the administration of micro-grants is to:
 Promote them within the organization and to the wider community,
 Accept micro-grant applications online through
http://www.playingforkeeps.ca/plan-neighbourhood-game,
 Connect with micro-grant applicants to arrange time to pick up funds (remind
applicants they will need to pay for costs upfront, and to keep their receipts for
administration of funds)
 Provide Volunteer Ambassadors and residents with collateral when hosting
Neighbourhood Games – Playing for Keeps flags, stickers and game boards,
 Complete the promotion form on www.playingforkeeps.ca so that Playing for Keeps
can promote the Game on the website and social media, and
 Follow up with Volunteer Ambassadors and residents to ensure that a brief video (30
seconds to 2 minutes) has been submitted to the website before releasing the microgrant (up to $50).
What costs or activities ARE eligible for a micro-grant?
 Purchase or rental of sports equipment, art supplies, party supplies, etc.,
 Promotion – flyer printing and copying, poster printing and copying, signage, and
 Food and refreshments.
What costs or activities are NOT eligible for a micro-grant?
 Activities that have already taken place,
 Payment to individuals including honouraria, gifts, entertainment/performance costs,
speaker fees, etc.,
 Prizes or incentives to participants, and
 Any alcoholic beverage.
P4K Hubs are eligible to apply for grants of $500 and $1,000 to host large-scale Neighbourhood
Games through the P4K Try-A-Sport Neighbourhood Games Grant.
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8. Further engagement opportunities for Volunteer Ambassadors within community
organizations
P4K Hubs will benefit from the leadership capacity gained by trained Volunteer Ambassadors.
As part of the Hubs quarterly reports, you will be asked to share how the Volunteer Ambassadors
have been volunteering with your organization. Examples of volunteer opportunities include:
program volunteer, intern, committee member, board member, etc.
9. Ongoing engagement between P4K Hubs and Playing for Keeps partnership
As a P4K Hub, you will be connected to the wider Playing for Keeps movement through:
 Regular meetings and teleconference calls with all P4K Hub organizations and/or the P4K
Advisory Group to share learnings, strategies and networks, and
 Staff access to Playing for Keeps/George Brown College training as well as spots for P4K
Hub staff members to participate in Fusion Strategic personal leadership training as well
as other training opportunities.
10. Quarterly reports
On a quarterly basis, P4K Hubs are requested to report on how the funds have been used in
accordance with the above stipulations. To keep Playing for Keeps and our stakeholders
informed on the impact your work as a P4K Hub is having, we ask that you provide us with
information and stories that illustrate your involvements. The information you provide helps P4K
to:
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Spread the word about the value of the P4K collaborative initiative. We use your stories
in pitches to media, Playing for Keeps publications and marketing materials, and on our
website.
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Share the story of impact with our family of stakeholders, collaborators and prospective
supporters.
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Evaluate the effectiveness of Playing for Keeps.
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Ensure funding is being used as approved – through the provision of a series of reports.
The format of the reports is being reviewed and will be supplied in more detail at a later date. It
will include the following:
IMPACT
• A quotable quote from you articulating how and why you have chosen to be a part of
the P4K collaborative, how it aligns with your strategic directions, and how it leverages
your work (focus on impact).
• Stories of interest – (i.e. Florence’s story about her journey with Playing for Keeps through
the Working Skills Centre is a great example: http://tcf.ca/stories/putting-your-volunteerexperience-your-r%C3%A9sum%C3%A9-does-help-you-get-job). Personal stories and
quotes are strongest.
VOLUNTEER AMBASSADORS AND NEIGHBOURHOOD GAMES (chart format)
• Names of Volunteer Ambassadors
• Total number of Volunteer Ambassadors recruited by your Hub that attended the
Community Leadership Training
• Total number of Neighbourhood Games hosted
• Total number of Neighbourhood Games participants
• Whether they have done their Neighbourhood Game or not
• Description of Neighbourhood Games (what date it took place, where they hosted it
park, community centre, neighbourhood, roughly how many people came and who
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they were i.e. seniors from the drop-in centre, and what they did i.e. picnic, hopscotch,
etc.)
• Whether a video is now on the P4K site, or when it is planned to be submitted
• Number of volunteer ambassadors who engaged with your Hub organizations as
volunteers post-training (and in what capacity)
• Number of hours of volunteers have provided to your organization
FINANCIALS
• How many micro-grants distributed
• Dollar value of micro-grants distributed
• Financial report on the use of the $7,500 grant – used for what?
• Predicted future disbursal plan
• Have any other funds or in kind resources been leveraged from other sources for P4K
Hub’s P4K activities. If yes, how much and from what source?
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