Peace Week

Dale understands the importance of being active in his community, empowering children, fostering inclusion and supporting families.

Dale has served as a Toronto police officer for nine years and currently takes on the role of Neighborhood Officer in Parkway Forest Community. Dale Swift has life-long roots in the GTA and has worked tirelessly to build healthier relationships between youth and police in his local community. While growing up in Chester Le, a Toronto Community Housing Corporation development in Scarborough, Dale saw first-hand the difference police officers can make when they invest in building relationships with members of the community they serve.

Today, Dale brings those personal experiences on and off the job. He’s made it his mission to support at-risk youth and help them understand that they have real opportunities for promising futures. He also strives to create a positive and socially inclusive environment where people are able to connect and reach out. These are some of the ways Dale has contributed to his community:

• Mentoring youth who are in trouble with the law
• Conducting resilience talks with youth
• Participating in leadership conferences
• Hosting workshops such as Gun Violence in Toronto #ResurrectionTournament
• Being active in community talks about mental health such as Youth with PTSD
• Coaching and running ball programs for at-risk youth
• Running an evening youth basketball program (at Victoria Park C.I.)
• Talking to families in the community when off duty
• Guest speaking in the community

Loizza is a mental health advocate who spearheaded her first fundraiser when she was just 9 years old. Her advocacy shifted from human rights to mental health in the 10th grade after she lost four of her fellow students to suicide — including one of her best friends. Determined to take action, Loizza created her own non-profit, Peace of Mind Canada, to create conversation and awareness surrounding mental health. Her non-profit originated in Winnipeg and now also operates in Ottawa and Toronto.

Peace of Mind runs Youth Against Mental Health and Illness Stigma (YAMHIS) events where young people come together to share their stories and experiences surrounding self-harm, suicide, mental health and mental illness. At the first event in 2016, 100 students attended and by the fourth event in the same year, there were 700. When Loizza moved to pursue post-secondary education at the University of Toronto, she decided to expand Peace of Mind to the Greater Toronto Area.

Loizza became an advocate for those who struggle in silence with mental health by creating conversations and driving awareness. She gives youth a platform to share personal stories about why mental health is important and how the stigma has affected their lives. She has found a way to involve others in the community and created a community of like-minded individuals who want to eradicate the stigma surrounding mental health. Peace of Mind has created a culture of compassion through YAMHIS. Loizza empowers other young people to create change within their own communities as well. High schools across Winnipeg, supported by Peace of Mind and YAMHIS, have created Peace of Mind clubs to ensure the conversation surrounding mental health remains strong between YAMHIS events.

Throughout his career, Masai has passionately promoted basketball as a means to educate and enrich the lives of youth while demonstrating the values of participation, empathy, advocacy, community, and empowerment – both on and off the court. For his tireless commitment to building healthy communities and developing strong, optimistic individuals, the YMCA of Greater Toronto is proud to award Masai Ujiri with a 2018 President’s Peace Medal.

Nigerian-born Masai fell in love with the sport of basketball at the age of 13. Since then, he has chased his love for the sport around the globe as a player, scout, the first National Basketball Association (NBA) General Manager of African descent and as President of the Toronto Raptors.

Since 2002, Masai served as the Director of the NBA's Basketball Without Borders program and in 2003 he founded the non-profit Giants of Africa, a basketball camp that provides a safe place for underprivileged children and young adults by giving them access to proper facilities and coaching expertise. The foundation’s goal is to provide pathways for youth in Africa and Canada to experiences and opportunities by advocating hard work, accountability, honest living and positivity through the sport of basketball.

In Toronto, Masai was also instrumental in the launch of the Raptors’ Women’s Leadership Forum which provides mentorship and opportunities for women in the professional sports and entertainment industry.