After finishing his U Sports football career as the national Russ Jackson award winner, former Gaels receiver Curtis Carmichael is continuing to serve his community with the Ride for Promise in support of UrbanPromise Toronto.
 
"Queen's alumni have been very hospitable this whole trip. I've met Queen's people in every province, which has been very nice. Queen's has had a huge impact on this trip in general." – Curtis Carmichael
 

What is the Ride for Promise?
Carmichael is cycling from Vancouver to Halifax (3,300km) in 30 legs over a five week to raise money for UrbanPromise Toronto and awareness of life in community housing.
 
What is UrbanPromise Toronto?
A registered non-profit organization committed to raising up a generation of young leaders from Toronto Community Housing who will become leaders in their own neighbourhoods.
 
How can you help?
Donate toward Carmichael's goal of $150,000 online: http://www.urbanpromise.com/ride/
 
 

Former @queensfootball ??receiver and @usportsca Russ Jackson Award winner is doing big things! Check out @rideforpromise and donate ??

A post shared by Queen's Gaels (@queensgaels) on Aug 3, 2017 at 12:48pm PDT

Carmichael grew up in government housing in Toronto and attended UrbanPromise camps in his neighbourhood before transitioning into the role of camp counsellor, helping to run the camps. Now Carmichael has moved into the third stage of the program, in which he is a community leader hoping to make an even bigger impact.
 
That's where the Ride for Promise comes into play. Carmichael hopes not only to raise money for the programs in Toronto but to make an impact wherever he stops along the way.
 
"We're at $21,000 and our goal is $150,000, which we're still going to stretch for, but my mindset from the get-go was always to raise awareness. Raising awareness not only inspires myself, the kids, and the people I meet, but it actually helps to create dialogue.
 
Having that dialogue, it might plant a seed in someone to think differently down the road, and that thinking differently goes a long way. If you start to think differently about the people you interact with, actually starting to treat kids based on who they are, not how they look or where they're from—that's the goal."
 
Carmichael's involvement isn't limited to his time in Toronto. While in Kingston playing for the Gaels, Carmichael continued his work as a leader for the kids in his home community.
 
"They brought a lot of the kids to visit me at school. I talked about how to get to university, scholarships, bursaries. I talked to them in general, like how do you avoid things, find the right friend group—like a parent. I was kind of like a dad for a lot of the camp counsellors. A lot of them, I was their camp counsellor when they were kids, and now my kids who were seven or eight, now lead the organization."
 
Carmichael is on pace to finish his Ride for Promise this weekend, planning to arrive in Halifax on Saturday, August 12th.