Founder honoured in London
Swabir Shariff was named one of the QECT 100 Young Leaders for 2026. He received the award at Asprey in London and attended a reception at St James's Palace.
Putting the Keys in Young People's Hands
Youth-led mentoring for inner-city youth in Scarborough, Toronto.
2020
Founded
10,000+
Youth mentored since 2020
Our Philosophy
The keys are in their hands
Young people already run the culture. Nobody handed them the music, the businesses, the fashion, or the art — they built all of it themselves. The work in their own neighbourhoods should be theirs to run, too.
There's a difference between a seat at the table and the keys to the house. A seat means young people are invited in — heard, on someone else's terms. The Good Guides was built to hand over the whole house: young people here lead the work, set the direction, and make the decisions, with mentors from their own neighbourhoods supporting them as they do. And in this house, everyone is a productive piece of the whole — no guests, no passengers: the young people, the mentors, the community around them, each one carrying part of the work.
Along the way, they pick up skills that stay with them long after any single program ends.
Our Organization
Make a difference in your community
Our volunteers mentor youth after school and back the work young people create and run themselves. Whatever time you have, there is a way to help.
Volunteer With Us
What We Do
Mentoring
After-school mentoring for ages 11–18, built on mentors who come back week in, week out.
Violence Prevention
Workshops on preventing violence and settling conflict, delivered across Scarborough — backed by a City of Toronto grant since 2023.
Co-op & Leadership
Co-op students join as Good Guide Ambassadors and build events of their own — résumé nights, bank-account sign-ups with local banks, and OSAP sessions that explain how student funding works.
For youth & parents: joining is free for youth ages 11–18. Get in touch, tell us your neighbourhood, and we'll point you to a program near you.
How to JoinPrograms at a glance: after-school mentoring and co-op placements for ages 11–18, with virtual hangouts between sessions — free for youth, in neighbourhoods across Scarborough.
See Our ProgramsTo change the starting line for young people — not just cheer them on from it.
The latest from The Good Guides
Stay in the loop
Program news, event invites, and ways to help — straight to your inbox. We never share your email.
About Us
Built in Scarborough. Led by the youth it serves.
The Good Guides is a grassroots, Black-led non-profit in Scarborough. Here, inner-city youth run the programs and events in their own neighbourhoods — with experienced mentors behind them.
Where It Started
Built by the community, because the community had to
The Good Guides began in Scarborough in 2020, and has mentored more than 10,000 young people here since. The idea started with Swabir Shariff, who grew up in Toronto Community Housing there — and friends who grew up alongside him were part of it from the start. Together they had watched the services meant to help young people miss them entirely.
It wasn't a lack of money or good intentions. The workers came from somewhere else. The programs were designed somewhere else. Kids couldn't see themselves in any of it — nobody in the room knew their streets, their schools, or their lives, so nobody in the room was trusted.
So they built their own: mentors from those same neighbourhoods, people young people could recognize as their own. It still runs the way it grew — mentors showing up week after week, and young people stepping up to lead alongside them.
Why We Exist
Our vision & mission
A generation of young people in Scarborough who lead in their own neighbourhoods — building skills, running programs, and making their streets stronger, with mentors behind them.
We mentor youth in Scarborough and work with their families, week after week, as young people grow into leaders — through after-school mentoring, violence-prevention workshops, and co-op placements where Ambassadors learn to lead.
What We Stand For
Our core values
Inclusivity
Every young person belongs here.
Respect
A caring space where young people are treated with respect — and expected to show it: to themselves, to others, and to their community.
Empowerment
Mentoring that puts youth and their families in charge of the decisions that shape their lives.
Creativity
Communities keep changing, so we keep adjusting — trying new ideas and keeping what works.
Our Philosophy
Led by youth, backed by adults
Adults here have a specific job: show up every week, bring the experience and the resources, and stand behind the young people running the work. Youth set the direction. We make sure they have what they need to carry it through — and what their work earns goes back into the neighbourhoods it came from.
Milestones
Our Story So Far
- 2020
The Good Guides was founded in Scarborough.
- 2021
Founder Swabir Shariff won CharityVillage's Best Individual Contribution to Youth Engagement.
- December 2021
Swabir was featured on Global News' 'Making A Difference,' interviewed by Susan Hay.
- 2023
The Good Guides received the City of Toronto's Youth Violence Prevention Grant.
- April 2024
Swabir was inducted into the Scarborough Walk of Fame as a Rising Star.
- May 2025
The Good Guides received a Toronto Community Champion Award (Honourable Mention) from the City of Toronto.
- October 2026
Swabir Shariff was named a QECT 100 Young Leaders Awardee for 2026 and received the award in London.
Help the next group get started
Donate, volunteer, or partner with us — every season of programs is planned and run by Scarborough youth, and it needs backing.
Take Action
Donate or volunteer — and back the work Scarborough youth are already leading.
We don’t offer young people a seat in one room. We give them the keys to the whole house.
Donate
The Good Guides is an incorporated non-profit in Ontario. We're not a registered charity, so we can't give you a tax receipt for your donation — see Good Questions below for the honest details.
Monthly donors keep the weekly work going.
DonateVolunteer
Good Guides volunteers mentor youth after school and help run youth-created events like Funday With Cops and the Back to School BBQ. Sign up to become a Good Guide.
Students: start with a co-op placement and earn school credits as a Good Guide Ambassador. See Our Programs for how placements work.
Sign Up to VolunteerEvery sign-up goes to our team, and every one gets an answer.
Good Questions
Frequently asked questions
Are you a registered charity? Can I get a tax receipt for my donation?
We're an incorporated non-profit in Ontario — not a registered charity — so we can't give you a tax receipt for your donation.
Your contribution still goes straight into the weekly work: after-school mentoring and virtual hangouts, violence prevention workshops, hot meals delivered to neighbours, and excursion days for youth.
How do I donate?
Donations run through Donorbox. Tap any Donate button on this site and you'll land on our secure donation page — one-time and monthly gifts are both welcome, and monthly donors keep the weekly work going.
Can I donate goods instead of money?
Yes — in-kind gifts go straight to work: food for the serving line, sports gear, backpacks and school supplies in September, and gifts and treat bags through the holidays. Goods come to us through the partnership route — start with the partnership form, or see Partners for the ways in. Money donations run through Donorbox — see "How do I donate?" above.
How do I volunteer, become a mentor, or become an Ambassador?
Start with the volunteer sign-up form and we'll be in touch. Our volunteers mentor youth after school and help run youth-created events — showing up week after week is the heart of it.
Students: you can start with a co-op placement and earn school credits as a Good Guide Ambassador. See Our Programs for how placements work.
What ages do you work with?
Our programs are for young people ages 11–18, after the school day ends, in the Scarborough neighbourhoods they call home — plus virtual hangouts between sessions. There is no long application; joining starts with a conversation.
How do I refer a young person?
Teachers, family members, and workers can all refer a young person. Start through our Contact page — it routes parents, students, and teachers to the right person — and tell us the young person's neighbourhood. There is no long referral form; joining starts with a conversation.
Where are you based?
Our office is at 2229 Kingston Rd Unit B, Scarborough, ON M1N 1T8, and our programs run in neighbourhoods across Scarborough.
Can you visit our school? Do you work outside Scarborough?
We visit schools and community centres across Scarborough, and we build workshops with our partners there. Our work is Scarborough-based — the neighbourhoods our youth call home — and that is where our programs run.
How can my organization partner with The Good Guides?
Start with the partnership form and tell us what you have in mind. Partners build workshops with us, host co-op students, back event days, and put contributions and in-kind gifts to work for Scarborough youth — see Partners for the ways in.
How do I reach you?
Email us at service@thegoodguides.org, or send a message through the form on our Contact page — parents, students, teachers, and businesses will each find the right route there.
Our Programs
Not just a chair at the table — the keys to the whole program.
The Good Guides doesn't invite youth in to watch. Young people create the programs, run the events, and shape the help their neighbourhoods need — with experienced mentors and the full backing of the organization behind them.
The Core Program
Co-op & after-school: where every Ambassador starts
Our core program runs two ways: co-op placements for students, and after-school programming for young people. Every event, workshop, and community help project on this page starts here.
Co-op Placements — Good Guide Ambassadors
We take co-op students from high schools and post-secondary schools. They join the team as Good Guide Ambassadors, earn credits toward graduation, and plan and run the workshops, events, and community help projects below — in their own neighbourhoods. If you're a student, or a teacher placing one, get in touch.
After-School Programming
Mentoring for young people ages 11–18, after the school day ends, in the Scarborough neighbourhoods they call home — plus virtual hangouts between sessions.
New faces are welcome, and joining is free. Parents and youth: see "Want in?" below — tell us your neighbourhood, and we'll match you with what's running near you.
For Youth & Parents
Want in? Joining is free.
After-school mentoring and programming are free for youth ages 11–18. There is no long application — joining starts with a conversation.
Parents and youth: reach out and tell us your neighbourhood. We'll find what's running closest to you and talk through the details together.
Start with a message
Use the contact form or email — whichever is easiest. Parents and youth: choose General Inquiries.
Every message goes to our team, and every one gets an answer.
- General Inquiriesservice@thegoodguides.org
How It Works
It starts with listening
Everything starts with working with the youth to hear their needs and wants. And we go from there.
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Listen first
Before anything is planned, we work with the youth to hear their needs and wants.
They know their streets, their schools, and their lives — so what gets built begins with what they say they need. Nothing here is designed somewhere else and handed down.
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The youth build from there
Ambassadors plan and run what the listening produces — with experienced mentors and the full backing of the organization behind them.
Programs & workshops
Ambassadors created the virtual hangouts that keep young people in touch with their mentors between sessions — and they run them. This step also carries our workshops on preventing violence and settling conflict, delivered across Scarborough — workshops the City of Toronto has funded since 2023. Young people pick up résumé writing, financial literacy, CPR & first aid, and job prep through the work itself.
Events
Ambassadors created and hosted résumé nights — young people left with a finished résumé — bank-account sign-up events, where youth opened their own accounts, and OSAP sessions that explained how student funding works. With community partners, they also ran Funday With Cops and the Toronto Sports Festival, created Community Graduation 2K21, and helped at Woburn Basketball Day, which was organized by the Toronto Police Service.
Trips & excursions
Ambassadors don't just go on trips — they choose the destination, plan the day, and run it themselves. At Brooks Farms in Mount Albert (September 2020), youth spent a day on a working farm — hiking, zip-lining, and apple picking — while single parents got a day of relief back home. Ice fishing trips run the same way: chosen, planned, and led by Ambassadors.
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The wider community feels it
The work doesn't stop at the youth in the room — neighbours, families, and schools feel it where they live.
Ambassadors do this work for the whole community, not just the youth in the room: hot meals carried to neighbours living in encampments, gifts and treat bags handed out close to home, a day of relief for single parents on excursion days, and a Community Resource Fair connecting families to services in their own neighbourhoods.
The Wider Record
The wider record
Built on the co-op and after-school core: City-funded violence prevention and community engagement.
Youth Violence Prevention
In 2023, the City of Toronto awarded The Good Guides its Youth Violence Prevention Grant, which supports workshops on preventing violence and settling conflict for youth across Scarborough.
Community Engagement
Good Guides youth show up where their neighbours are: sports days alongside neighbourhood officers, graduations for students of every grade, and meals delivered to neighbours living in encampments. With the Toronto Police Service and more than 25 community volunteers, they also cleared a truckload of garbage from the Doris McCarthy Trail. Showing up the same way, week after week, is how trust gets built here.
Contact Us
More initiatives
Also in the Ambassadors' record:
- Toronto Sports Festival
- Back to School BBQ
- Guided by Giving
- Community Graduation
- Encampment Meal Deliveries
- Waterfront Cleanup
Our youth are hard at work
Running the co-op and after-school programs at the heart of this page. Donations put more days like these on the calendar.
DonateOur Team
Mentors, project leads, and youth leaders from the same Scarborough neighbourhoods as the youth they serve. Meet eight of the people — core team and volunteers — behind the programs, events, and community help projects on this site.
SWABIR SHARIFF
Founder & Executive DirectorBorn and raised in Scarborough, Swabir founded The Good Guides in 2020 — young people leading the change in their own neighbourhoods, keys to the whole house, mentors behind them. He is a QECT 100 Young Leaders Awardee (London, 2026), a One Young World Ambassador, and a Scarborough Walk of Fame Rising Star. He still lives in Scarborough, close to the streets that raised him.
CHRISTOPHER DAYE
Operations ManagerChristopher has lived and worked in the Scarborough community for most of his life, and has seen it change — too often for the worse — firsthand. As Operations Manager, he keeps our program days and trips running — the excursion days and outings our Ambassadors plan. He enjoys camping, fishing and trips with the youth.
CHAZ MAIS
Project ManagerChaz is a Scarborough resident, and his life here has made him an advocate for its youth. As Project Manager, he leads our community help projects and event days — he is the one handing out gifts and treat bags in the community. He enjoys music, meditating, and spreading positive vibes.
FARHAN KHALID
Project DirectorFarhan has lived in Scarborough his whole life. His community work comes down to showing up for the youth in his own neighbourhood, week after week, and helping them move forward.
ALEX IONITA
Marketing SpecialistAlex is a University of Toronto graduate with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration. Through basketball and other sports, he helps youth build confidence and life skills that carry off the court.
ABDI AHMED
Youth LeaderAbdi is a youth leader in his community, focused on giving young people what they need to succeed. His line for them: 'Your breakthrough comes from your sacrifice.'
EMMANUEL AKINGBOLA
Marketing SpecialistEmmanuel holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Toronto Metropolitan University and is pursuing a Master of Science in Management. Outside of work, he enjoys music, sports, spending time outdoors, and connecting with his community.
SABRINA SHARIFF, RN
Development & Safety CoordinatorSabrina is a Public Health Nurse with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and is currently a Master of Education candidate. She gives back by teaching youth and their families about health and healthy living.
Partners
We don't do this work alone. These are the partners who stand alongside Scarborough youth.
Schools, businesses, and community organizations plug into this work in six ways. Find yours below — then start a partnership at the bottom of the page.
Partner With Us
Ways to partner
Build a program with us
Our workshops are designed with the partners who deliver them — violence-prevention sessions with the Toronto Police Service's Community Partnership and Engagement Unit. If your organization runs something Scarborough youth should have, let's design the session together.
Take a co-op student
Scarborough schools place co-op students with us, and their teachers stay in the loop from first day to final evaluation. If your school or workplace can host a placement, a young person gets real hours, real work, and a real reference.
Stand behind an event
Our biggest days are shared days. Funday With Cops and the Toronto Sports Festival run with partner organizations, and the Community Resource Fair puts services in one room for families. Partners bring people, gear, food, and space — the day gets bigger for every one that shows up.
Fund a program day
Program days run on contributions — the barbecue food, the trip buses, the room for graduation. Funding a day, a season, or a single trip puts your support inside a moment the youth will remember, with the Ambassadors running it end to end.
Give what's in your hands
In-kind gifts go straight to work: food for the serving line, sports gear, backpacks and school supplies in September, gifts and treat bags through the holidays. If your business makes it, stocks it, or has it on a shelf, our youth can use it.
Lend your profession
Some of our strongest sessions are taught by people who do the work for a living — résumé nights, first bank accounts, CPR and first aid, money basics, OSAP walkthroughs. Professionals back the organization itself, too, with space, skills, and advice. One hour of what you know can change what a young person believes is possible.
Our Partners
The organizations behind the work
Toronto Police Service
Community Partnership and Engagement Unit
Toronto District School Board
Community partner
City of Toronto
Community partner
With thanks to PRO ACTION Cops and Kids and KxngsTable — named in our Gallery record for standing behind Funday With Cops, the Toronto Sports Festival, and our meal deliveries.
In the Community
Partnership gallery
Get Involved
Start a partnership
Tell us what you've got — people, space, skills, or supplies — and we'll find the day it fits.
Start a Partnership
Prefer email? Partnerships go to Swabir Shariff at swabir.shariff@thegoodguides.org.
Every message goes to our team, and every one gets an answer.
Sharing this with your team? Download our partner one-pager (PDF).
Gallery
The record so far: sports days, trail cleanups, graduations, and meal deliveries across Scarborough — events and initiatives organized by our Ambassadors and community partners. See Our Programs for what youth are running now.
Guided by Giving
December 2024Good Guides team members and Toronto Police officers wrapped and handed out gifts with Santa in December 2024.
Carnival at Willow Park Public School
Financial Literacy Workshop
December 2023
Back to School BBQ
September 2023
Rookie League Baseball
Summer 2023
Sledding Day with Toronto Police Service Officers
March 2023
Youth at Our First CPR Training Session
Winter 2022–23
Funday With Cops
July 23, 2022Young people played sports with Toronto Police Service neighbourhood officers at a local school park, and families from the area joined the games.
Special Thanks to: PRO ACTION Cops and Kids
Toronto Sports Festival
June 12, 2022A community day of sport for Scarborough youth and families, with neighbourhood officers joining the games.
Special Thanks to: PRO ACTION Cops and Kids & The Toronto Police Chief's Youth Advisory Committee
Woburn Basketball Day
April 30, 2022The Good Guides supported the first annual Woburn Basketball Day, bringing youth from across Scarborough together for a day of basketball at Centennial College. Thank you to PC Amanda from the Toronto Police Service for organizing the event, and to all the partners who helped run it.
Doris McCarthy Trail - Cleanup
October 26, 2021The Good Guides joined Toronto Police Service members and more than 25 local volunteers to clean up the Doris McCarthy Trail, hauling a truckload of garbage out of the ravine and off the waterfront. Thank you to everyone who came out.
Community Graduation 2K21
July 24, 2021Community Graduation 2K21 celebrated students from all grades, with our partners and supporters there to cheer them on.
Meal Delivery — Support for Local Homeless Encampments
January 2, 2021
Meals delivered to our neighbours living in encampments.
Special Thanks to: KxngsTable and our guest chef
Delivering Presents 2K20
November 29, 2020Our Project Manager Chaz spent the weekend handing out gifts and treat bags in the community.
Brooks Farms - Field Trip
September 27, 2020We travelled to Brooks Farms in Mount Albert, Ontario, where youth spent the day outdoors — hiking, zip-lining, and apple picking at a working farm. For many of them, it was their first time on a farm. The trip gave single parents a day of relief, too.
Be part of the next event
These days happen because people show up — as mentors, partners, and donors.
In the Media
The Good Guides in the media
News features, interviews, and conversations about The Good Guides and the young people leading the work — collected in one place.
Youth Violence Prevention Grant recipients announced
The City of Toronto's news release announcing the recipients of its Youth Violence Prevention Grant names The Good Guides among the funded organizations.
CP24 Tonight panel on youth violence
Swabir Shariff joins a CP24 Tonight panel to talk about youth violence in Toronto — and about the mentoring work happening on the ground in Scarborough.
“Making a Difference” feature
Global News' Susan Hay visits The Good Guides to see how young people in Scarborough are stepping up to mentor each other.
‘Open door’ for Scarborough youth
‘Open door’ for Scarborough youth lets Good Guide Ambassadors choose how they want to help — a profile of the Ambassadors, young people deciding for themselves how they want to help their own neighbourhood. By Mike Adler.
CharityVillage Connects interview
After Swabir Shariff wins CharityVillage's inaugural Best Individual Contribution to Youth Engagement award — chosen from more than 500 submissions — president Mary Barroll sits down with him to talk about the year and the work.
Press or coverage questions? Reach the team through our Contact page.
Contact Us
Mentoring for your child, a co-op placement, a partnership, or just a question — get in touch.
We're an incorporated non-profit based in Scarborough, Ontario. Our work runs in Scarborough neighbourhoods — and we want to hear from the people who live in them.
Send us a message and tell us what you need — the emails below will get you to the right person.
A parent looking for a mentor for your child
Parents and youth: start with General Inquiries.
A student or teacher asking about a co-op placement
Use Co-op & Student Placements.
A local business that wants to back Scarborough youth
Partnerships is the route.
Office Address
Contact Information
- General Inquiriesservice@thegoodguides.org
- Partnershipsswabir.shariff@thegoodguides.org
- Co-op & Student Placementsambassador@thegoodguides.org
Every message goes to our team, and every one gets an answer.