An interactive youth program on learning about TRUE happiness and how to live a virtuous successful life.

Saving the environment is what 'We Care For You' organization is all about. We organized another tree planting and stewardship event, this time in Valleyridge Park in Oakville. We planted many trees which will continue to grow over the coming years as well as the happiness the volunteers have gained from it. 

Another wonderful chance to save lives. We organized a blood donation clinic together with Canadian Blood Services at the Centennial Community Center in Markham and have donated many units of blood which will help to save lives. 

Together with over several Buddhist temples and associations in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), a event known as Unity Vesak has been organized in Mel Lastman Square in Toronto to celebrate the Birth, Enlightenment and Passing Away of our Gautama Supreme Buddha and to showcase our organization and the importance of Vesak. 

Another year, and another great deed done by the volunteers of We Care For You! For the second time, we all took the time to clean around Kennedy Road and the surrounding area of our monastery location. Many of us cleaned garbage and litter around the ditch, or left on the grass and small ponds. We showed the care for our environment helping to clean bags of garbage. 

A group of volunteers had taken the time to clean up the area around the monastery and the area around Kennedy Road. With compassionate minds and caring about the environment around them, they were able to clean and fill many bags of garbage around the road, small ponds and ditch. 

​NFT collaborated with Evergreen Society of Canada to organize a tree stewardship event, held in August 2010, at Morningside Park. NFT members, especially the youth members, worked very hard to promote this event throughout the community. All the meetings in preparation for this event took place at the Monastery and there was a successful turnout of approximately 60 people for each event. Evergreen Society of Canada trained participants on how to perform necessary treatments for the plants and provided required tools.  With the help of Evergreen Society of Canada, we were able to build a relationship between nature, culture and community in urban space. 

​It is a custom in the Buddhist community to assemble lanterns during the month of May to celebrate Vesak.  At the Mahamevna Monastery the youth collaboratively created and assembled 130 paper lanterns.  This activity taught these youth to develop patience and concentration as they are essential requirements in building lanterns. This also gave them an opportunity to release their energy in a positive way and to associate with like-minded individuals. 

​This project was what gave a handful of devotees, who were also friends, the initial idea to form the youth sub group, Noble Friends of Toronto, as part of Toronto Mahamevnawa Buddhist Monastery. This group soon gained recognition for their devotion to the monastery and also received recognition from the venerable monks as well as from the most venerable chief monk, venerable Kiribathgoda Gnānānanda Thera. After a few name changes, the group decided to keep Noble Friends of Toronto as their official name.
 
NFT assisted in the creation of hundreds of lanterns which were offered as light to the Supreme Buddha.  This activity not only helped to form NFT, but also brought a lot of youth together to work collaboratively in a team setting. 

​Noble Friends of Toronto assisted with a plumeria (araliya) flower puja offering to the Supreme Buddha.  During this event, NFT assisted several devotees in stringing and arranging thousands of plumeria flowers at Toronto Mahamevnawa to create an aesthetically pleasing arrangement.

​A generous outpour was received when NFT organized a food drive at Toronto Mahamevnawa Bhanvana Monastery in March of 2012. The several boxes of non-perishable food collected were donated to the North York Harvest Food Bank in order to assist them feed the hungry in our society.

​A generous outpour was received when NFT organized a food drive at Toronto Mahamevnawa Bhanvana Monastery in order to collect non-perishable food items on behalf of the North York Harvest Food Bank. Several generous devotees dropped off non-perishable food items in order to help North York Harvest Food Bank feed the hungry.  We are hoping to make this a continuous bi-annual event.

The third in the series, “Awaken to Conscious Living” was hosted at University of Waterloo. Once again, conducted by the most Ven. Jeevananda bhante, an eager group attended.   An engaging discussion was held on such topics as anger management, general Buddhism and stress relief techniques. Each attendee received a copy a Dhamma CD: Awakening: A Collection of Dhamma Talks.