About Us

It all began…

In 2005, the blood of 78 homicide victims spilled on the streets of Toronto ¾52 of them Black youth. While many Christian leaders were working individually and collectively to provide solutions to the increasing spate of violence in the city, Dr. Eugene Rivers’ visit to Toronto in early 2006 became the catalyst to spur a more coordinated response from the community of Black church leaders. Representatives from the Christian Leadership Network (CLN- formerly the Metro Black Clergy Association) and the GTA Faith Alliance, spearheaded the initial effort in developing and submitting a proposal to the Ontario Government to secure a grant to help combat youth violence.

On April 29, 2006, at a press conference, the Premier of Ontario, the Honourable Dalton McGuinty announced the approval of a grant amount of $3 million dollars over a 2-year period. Significantly enough, the press conference was held at the Toronto West Seventh Day Adventist Church where Toronto youth, Amon Beckles was gunned down while attending the funeral of his friend who was also a victim of gun violence.

Following the Premier’s announcement, this coalition of Christian leaders established themselves as the African-Canadian Christian Network (ACCN) in order to effectively manage and implement the Grants Program, in collaboration with their financial trustee, the Toronto Community Foundation (TCF).

Mission Statement

To foster and enhance the work of African-Canadian Church and community organizations in order to assist and encourage Black youth to lead lives free of violence.

Capacity Building

ACCN is more than just a source of funding and offers capacity building to the many organizations that apply. The churches and their community partners offer a wealth of resources, which includes but is not limited to, culturally sensitive programming, real estate, and much intellectual property from the multi-disciplinary pool of talented volunteers who want to give of themselves for the betterment of our youth, families and community.

Volunteerism is at the core of ACCN’s successful operations, as the organization continues to support the efforts of Church and community partnerships to help our youth lead lives free of violence.

CONTACT ACCN

ACCN OFFICE
90 Winges Road, Unit 206
Vaughan, ON L4L 6A9
Tel. (905) 850-2410
Fax (905) 850-9675

Email: info@accntoronto.com