The Boy who ate 20 pancakes

Rick Gosling, founder of The Children’s Breakfast Club, met with me and my class mates to discuss his company. He began with a story. On the first day of The Children’s Breakfast Club, Rick was watching the few kids who came in for breakfast eat their warm breakfasts. He was nervous, he wasn’t sure how to run a breakfast club. He had no idea the future of the company. However, on that first day one child sat down and ate over 20 pancakes in one sitting. Rick knew in that moment, even if no one else showed up to his breakfast club, that it was his mission to feed that boy breakfast. The next time that Rick ran his breakfast club, he had over 50 children asking for him to feed them. It was then when he discovered his life’s mission and passion was to ensure that no kid goes to school hungry.

The Reality of Toronto

In 2020, according to a Toronto Foundation for Student Success article titled Student Nutrition Programs, 1 in every 4 children live in poverty in Toronto. The article continues to say that 40% of all students in Toronto go to school hungry. Countless studies have shown that going to school hungry is directly linked to poor academic success, health issues, impaired learning, and an increased risk of mental health issues. The kids need to be fed.

Why TCBC is Important

This is why breakfast clubs like The Children’s Breakfast Club are so important. Students in Toronto need to be fed before they go to school. Often times the parents are unable to support their child with a proper breakfast before school. This is where TCBC steps in. They enter the school, or impoverished neighborhood, and offer a warm breakfast made by local community volunteers for the children within these impoverished communities and schools. They only charge a quarter for a student to get a warm breakfast.

Its all about Community

TCBC is important in building communities. Many of the volunteers within TCBC are first responders and community role models such as teachers. This is done on purpose to help teach at risk students that their community role models, policemen, and first responders are there to help them not harm them.

What you can do to help

The Children’s Breakfast Club is always in need of help and assistance from the communities it works within. Simply volunteering your time, if you can, is a great way to help assist and become role model within your community. Without volunteers TCBC is nothing.

Join my mailing list by clicking this link!

https://mailchi.mp/d9aed1c29d80/tcbc-calvin-capstone-landing-page