Playing for Keeps - Progress Report

We are happy to announce that the 2012 Ontario Summer Games (OSG) Organizing Committee approved: Playing for Keeps as a key legacy for the Ontario Summer Games. Please see the summary presentation.

Playing for Keeps - The Short Story

1. The Opportunity - Social Capital Legacy

The Games provide an opportunity to enhance the legacy of the physical capital with a corresponding development of social capital.

The Games present a unique opportunity to generate a legacy of social benefits for the Greater Golden Horseshoe. The Games will be a catalyst for aligning, leveraging, and focussing existing community assets to enhance the well-being of Ontarians by building healthy active communities and strengthening a sense of belonging.

By working together, we can align social capital objectives with the objectives of the Province of Ontario, the Games organization (“TO2015”), participating municipalities, and community organizations.We can test-drive ideas through the 2012 Ontario Summer Games.

Together, we can significantly impact community development.

2. Alignment Meeting - June 16, 2010

As Lead Social Capital Partner appointed by TO2015, Toronto Community Foundation convened representatives from major not-for-profit, academic, public and business institutions and organizations to discuss the opportunity the Games present. A strong spirit of collaboration led to agreement on working together to develop social capital through the Games.

3. Playing for Keeps

The Toronto Community Foundation is collaborating with Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario, University of Toronto – Faculty of Physical Education and Health, Ontario Trillium Foundation, Get Active Toronto, Durham Family YMCA, Hamilton Community Foundation and many other organizations in Ajax, Toronto and Hamilton regions on a social capital initiative.

We call this initiative Playing for Keeps, created in April, 2011.

It leverages the 2012 Ontario Summer Games and the 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games to build social capital and create a legacy of healthier, more active and stronger communities, while nurturing a deepened sense of belonging. We want to leverage physical and cultural play in ways that truly drive enduring impact.

4. Community Design Workshops

We convened people from the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors across the footprint of the Games in Ajax, Toronto and Hamilton in the Spring/Summer 2011 to extend the conversation and get a wide selection of people from sports, arts, culture, environment, civic, and health organizations involved in designing this social legacy approach.

Program Elements:We discussed the guiding principles of a social legacy, what success would look like, what the possible programs might be – and what the challenges really are.

Agreed-upon ingredients:We learned that there is a great deal of agreement on issues and aspirations for social change through the Games – and some important points of local emphasis.

Core Team:We also now have a committed community of people who want to continue developing the social legacy.