Who We Are

The Jane/Finch Community and Family Centre (also known as the ‘Jane/Finch Centre’ or JFC) is a multi-service, community-based organization with a strong focus on poverty reduction through resident engagement, capacity building and anti-oppression. We have a long history of innovation and response to community needs and priorities. For over 40 years, the organization has been strategically building the health and well-being of Jane and Finch in collaboration with residents, community leaders, community groups, organizations and partners from within the local community and beyond. With a resident-led Board of Directors, the Centre has always been a passionate and strategic organization which has won numerous best practice awards.

OUR MISSION

Jane/Finch Centre is a community-based organization driven by passion, innovation and a strong commitment to leadership, social justice, community engagement and collaboration.

OUR VISION

Our vision is a healthy Jane Finch community – strong, inclusive and civically-engaged through diversity, opportunity and
participation.

Strategic Directions

Our vision will inspire and guide us towards the future that we seek to create with our communities. We have identified three strategic directions to support the resilience of our organization and positive change in the community:

  1. Strengthening the capacity of our community to contribute to systemic social change.

  2. Reducing poverty and its effect on physical and mental health in our community, with an emphasis on youth, seniors and families.

  3. Enhancing the practices of our organization.

All three strategic directions contribute to achieving our vision of a healthy Jane/Finch community. They will enable JFC to continue to build on its strengths and be responsive to the needs and opportunities of our community partners.

OUR MODEL

We are a neighbourhood agency that focuses on localized issues facing residents within Black Creek/Jane-Finch. We offer various programs and services to residents that are created in direct response to community needs and priorities. As community needs shift, we adapt. Our programs, services, projects and advocacy initiatives are developed through on-going community analysis, resident engagement and collaboration. 

Our programs and services run out of 5 satellite locations in the Jane-Finch community, and provide social supports to community residents as a solution to the existing systemic inequities and lack of social services offered in the area. Our goal through our service delivery and advocacy work is to foster a healthy Jane-Finch community by strengthening and building the capacity of our residents. 

Click here to learn more about the programs and services we offer.

Equity and inclusion are not negotiable. It’s foundational.

Founded on principles of equity, access and community development, the Jane/Finch Centre has used a strengths-based approach to service delivery and intervention.

You can read more about our equity practices, approach and history here.

OUR HISTORY

1970s

  • We gained charitable status and were incorporated in 1976 through resident involvement.

1980s

  • We became a United Way Toronto member in 1980, and expanded services to support newcomers. 

  • Our programs evolved to include ‘Leaders-In-Training’ workshops to support residents advocating in the community. We also partnered with York University to offer bridging courses for women to support their transition into university studies.

1990s

  • Developed a new mission statement and expanded our mandate to include youth.

  • We became the first community-based organization in Jane/Finch to establish an extended benefits plan, which included RRSP.

  • We began to provide anti-racism programs, community speak-outs, and alcohol and drug prevention programs. 

  • We secured two more units at our main office space to support our growing team. 

2000s

  • We opened our Early Years Centre (Now called ‘EarlyON Centre’) and ‘The Spot’ youth space, putting a large emphasis on youth programs and enhanced services for children 0-6 years old. 

  • We launched ‘Women Moving Forward’ and received United Way funding for ‘Action for Neighbourhood Change’. 

  • As our programs continued to grow, we expanded our offices to include two more community sites. 

In the last decade, we have added ‘Green Change’, an environmental sustainability program, settlement services, a Financial Empowerment and Program-Solving (FEPS) program, a community wellbeing program and have expanded our seniors program. We currently run programs out of 6 locations within Jane-Finch. In 2022, we celebrated 46 years of service in the community.

Board of Directors

  • Mustafa El Amin, known as Goncept, is the Marketing Manager for the Black Music Department at Universal and the founder of MyStand; an organization dedicated to empowering racialized youth through mentorship, wrap-around support and holistic workshops. Mustafa is also the board chair of the Jane/Finch Centre, a community-based organization focused on poverty reduction, resident engagement and anti-oppression.

    With an extensive career in music and the arts, Mustafa has collaborated with several emerging artists who’ve achieved global recognition and multi-platinum success. Mustafa's impact extends to helping artists build a strong social media presence, helping them garner millions of followers.

    As a Sudanese refugee, Mustafa grew up between various rural Ontario and equity-seeking communities across Toronto, where he played a vital role in caring for his five siblings. At the age of 14, his parents' separation led to their return to Sudan, leaving Mustafa to fend for himself. During this time, Mustafa found himself in and out of trouble with the law.

    Mustafa’s upbringing manifested into a deep passion for community-focused initiatives, with a particular affinity for supporting youth with similar lived-experiences. He is committed to using his platform to support communities and youth who face systemic inequities, driving transformative change through mentorship, mindfulness practices and storytelling.

    In addition to his leadership at the Jane/Finch Centre and MyStand, Mustafa also serves as the director of community partnerships at Operation-Prefrontal Cortex (Op-PFC) and previously served on the board of directors at Mnfsto.

  • Lindsay joined the Board of the Jane and Finch Centre in 2017. Her interest in the Centre stems from a deep respect for the role of local service providers in shaping neighbourhoods, improving the lives of the province’s most vulnerable residents, and in making social and economic systems work. She is consistently humbled by having the opportunity to support the critical work of the Jane and Finch Centre, and from being able to learn about the neighbourhood’s residents and accomplishments. Lindsay lives with her husband and two young sons in downtown Toronto, and will never leave her vibrant urban neighbourhood regardless of this or any future pandemics.

  • Evelyn Boachie is a board member at the Jane/Finch Centre, and a Political Staffer for MPP Tom Rakocevic in Humber River-Black Creek. She has been working in politics since 2008, first as a volunteer and then a community organizer. Evelyn lived in Jane and Finch for many years and continues to advocate and help parents, students and other residents in the community who experience systemic racism and other barriers. She is grateful for her humble beginnings; African descent, not speaking English when she came to Canada at age 14, dark skin, had an Afro haircut, all traits that were not seen to be “cool” in school. These “insecurities” have made her a compassionate individual who loves to help others and understands the experiences and struggles of newcomers in Canada. Currently, she mentors members of the African-Canadian diaspora and inspires many individuals in her life.

  • Aditi is in her final year at the University of British Columbia studying economics. She proudly traces her roots back to the Jane and Finch community. She spent over 6 years with the Jane and Finch Tennis Association and is the second-ever recipient of the Loran Scholarship from Jane/Finch. Aditi has spent time working in Kenya and the UK, and upon graduating she will be working as an analyst for a boutique impact investing fund. She hopes to dedicate her career to realizing a world where the benefits of economic growth are accessible to all.

  • Alicia is the People and Culture Manager at Mercatus Technologies. She is an HR professional who is dedicated to helping humans realize their full potential. Alicia is passionate about creating healthy communities through leveraging diversity, promoting inclusion and accessibility all while making meaningful human connections. While all of this is a part of her day job, she finds even more fulfilment in advocating for those in her community, that's why she's proud to be a part of the Jane/Finch Community . "We can’t make the world safe for everyone, but we have the power to make our communities safer and more inclusive and dismantle systems of power from the inside out".

  • Sanja Mavrak has been a practicing lawyer in Toronto since 2014. Sanja has volunteered with various organizations including Lawyers Feed the Hungry and The Period Purse, where she served as a director on the board. As a result of her work and volunteer involvement, Sanja has had extensive experience working with the most vulnerable members of the community, and enjoys that aspect of her work the most. She hopes to continue her work with organizations and individuals, and strongly believes that when we support each other, incredible things happen.

  • Theleepan grew up in a single mother home in the Jane and Finch community. Armed with a CFA designation and a MBA, he is currently recognized as a top performer for one of the largest banks in Canada. He became a board member to give back to the community he grew up in. He currently resides in Mississauga with his young family.

  • Eloise is a leader with 15 years of experience working in the education research and policy space. She grounds her research, policy and co-design work in an anti-racist and anti-oppression framework and is on a journey to decolonize research and the policy development cycle. Currently she is a Manager at the Future Skills Office at ESDC. Previously she was at the ESDC Innovation Lab where she led an interdisciplinary team of researchers and design thinkers to co-create policy solutions with those that live on this land. She was elected to the ESDC Visible Minority Network where she advocates for the needs of racialized employees at ESDC.

  • Joanne is a community engagement professional with a passion for transforming lives and communities through transformative learning experiences and meaningful engagement. As an Alumni Engagement Officer at York University, she fosters collaboration and cultivates connections that contribute to both student and alumni success through networking, mentorship, recruitment and outreach. Joanne is dedicated to empowering others as the drivers of change and leaders of tomorrow and she brings forth experience in youth engagement, sustainability education, entrepreneurship, and leadership development. She is proud to represent the Jane/Finch community - her lifelong home. Joanne holds a Bachelor of Environmental Studies and is currently completing her Masters in Leadership and Community Engagement at York University.

The Jane/Finch Centre is an anchor agency of the United Way.