KINGFrancine Black
, Staff Reporter
AT 24 years old, Kevin King is a motivational speaker, lecturer, founder and chairman of his own foundation in Canada.
As a young Jamaican, Kevin has been creating waves in youth circles in his adopted country over the past few years. With a strong faith in God and unwavering determination, Kevin left the comfort of his grandparents - his main caregivers- in Grove Town, Manchester to live with his mother in Toronto, Canada.
In 1993, the then 13-year old Kevin arrived in Toronto where he found it very challenging to adjust to the changes in culture.
"They played basketball which was not very popular back home so I had to learn how to. I had to adjust to different weather conditions and the differences in culture," he said.
He attended North Albion Collegiate where he joined the school's student association and started to play an active role in the lives of other young people. There he also became involved in basketball which he actively pursued.
His active participation in youth affairs did not go unnoticed as he was invited to chair the Rexdale Youth Council in 1997. He planned various programmes including HIV awareness for youth in the community.
Two years later in 1999 he was asked to join the Toronto Youth Cabinet where he was also appointed chairman. There he tackled issues affecting 300,000 youths of the 2.6 million population. His focus was more on issues surrounding youth violence.
Along the way he received various awards for his work. These included the
Mayor's Merit in 1998 and the Harry Jerome award in 2000 for outstanding youth leadership which he received along with 'Hurricane' Reuben Carter.
All Kevin's successes were not without challenges. He had to overcome financial challenges which arose when he was 18-years-old and had to assume responsibility for himself which included paying for his education.
Luckily the aforementioned youth positions which he functioned in were paying positions and so he sent himself to George Brown College and pursued two diplomas in Business Administration and Business Marketing.
He now lectures at the George Brown College and is furthering his studies on-line at State University in New York.
As a member of the Rexdale community Kevin has also established the Rexdale Foundation which seeks to encourage post secondary educational pursuits among youth in the community. The foundation seeks also to create hope despite the problems often faced by youth.
"The point of this (the foundation) is to create hope through the programme ...because I am proof that young people can succeed," he said.
In honour of his grandparents and his continued encouragement of education he has also established a scholarship titled "Eulalee and Hubert King Scholarship of Excellence" valued at Canadian $15,000 for a business student at the George Brown University.
He said his grandparents played a major role in achieving what he has today.
"All that I am I owe to my grandparents," he said proudly.
