Current Partnership Opportunities

We have upcoming partnership opportunities with university faculty and students that might suit your community’s needs

Winter 2025

Researcher	Katie Entigar is a professor of Critical Adult Education at OISE/UofT. Her work focuses on non-profit and community-based education with newcomers, and her research team is building community partnerships for a new study on verbal & non-verbal communication in adult education with migrant students.
Request	Seeking participants who are 18+ years old, currently attending adult education courses at a community-based organization in Toronto, and intermediate or higher level speakers of English.
Details	Interested participants will be invited to complete an online qualitative survey about their experiences as an adult immigrant student in community-based adult education. Based on these responses, some participants will be invited to participate in a follow-up interview. Information shared in the survey and interview will remain confidential.
Time Committment	Total time commitment will be between 60-135 minutes total over the course of 2-4 weeks.
Compensation	Participants will receive a $25 CAD gift card after completing the survey. Participants who are selected to participate in an interview will receive an additional $25 gift card.
Partnership Opportunity	Katie is able offering volunteer teaching, teacher training, curriculum development, or other supports to your organization. She is an ESL teacher, migrant rights worker, and community support group facilitator with 20 years of experience working with newcomers and multilingual people.
Contact	Dr. Katie Entigar k.entigar@utoronto.ca

Fall 2025/Winter 2026

Program Title	Community Action Program
Timing	The program runs from September 2025 – April 2026. Students are expected to attend their placement from mid October 2025 to late March 2026. Partners are not required to formally evaluate the work of students although staff will do monthly check ins with partners and students to ensure that things are running smoothly.
Program Description	The Community Action Program connects students with community organizations so that students can experience and learn about the work that is done by the community sector. Students volunteer 2-5 hours per week in support of community programming. Specifically this year we are looking for placements that focus on either literacy or food access/justice. Our students receive training in the principles of equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility, as well as an introduction to asset-based community development. We are very open to crafting a placement that is mutually beneficial to you and the students. We like to place at least two students to an organization when possible. Students are expected to volunteer 2-5 hours per week and we would want them to have a consistent role, ie. they help with logistics for a weekly English conversation circle for newcomers on Fridays from 3-5 pm. We also have some students who would prefer a hybrid or online role for their placement if that is an option.
Student Contributions to the Community/Organization	Students are eager to contribute to the mandate of your organization in whatever way is helpful. In the past students have provided research to develop or expand a particular program area, worked in kitchens to prepare meals for community members, co-facilitated conversation circles with seniors and provided 1:1 tutoring for high schools students. Their skills vary, and staff will work hard to create the right match for each situation.
Student Skills and Experience	Because students come from a variety of programs and life experiences, their knowledge about community work differs. To prepare them to contribute effectively, we provide them with a thorough orientation which covers equity, diversity, inclusion and accessiblity (EDIA) principles and practices, asset-based community development and the principles of community engaged learning.
Student Goals for Learning	We hope that students will learn the importance of contributing to their community, as well as to recognize the value that the community sector brings to the city, and the complex nature of their work. Some of our students have continued to volunteer with their placement organization after the program ends because they see this and want to continue to contribute.
Contact Information	Janet Fitzsimmons: janet.fitzsimmons@utoronto.ca