25 years ago today was my first day co-creating what was to become the East Scarborough Storefront. What we had back then was a big, empty (rather shabby looking) space in Morningside Mall, community passion and a ton of good will from dozens of grassroots groups and organizations. One memory stands out clearly as the moment I knew this was going to be something different. It was the moment when I met Samsam Ismail, the founder and inspiration behind the grassroots group Horn of Africa Parents Association. She was a regal looking woman who strode into the space with confidence “I hope you’re not going to run this place in the usual euro-centric way” she said to me. That was the moment something clicked for me: this was an opportunity to do things differently.

Over the next 25 years, I learned (and continue to learn) so much from the knowledge and worldviews of the exceptional people connected to the East Scarborough community. Sadly Samsam passed away several years later, however, her legacy and the legacy of so many others live on in what The Storefront has become. Now hundreds of people have been part of The Storefront’s evolution or taken up its inspirational story and adopted and adapted the resulting Connected Community Approach in their own contexts.

Thank you East Scarborough Storefront for all you have given me, all I have learned and the opportunities you have provided for us all to reimagine more equitable, resilient and connected communities.