Giving Back to Crescent Town
Shatabdi Sarker, a Tax Administrator at ScotiaBank, knows first-hand the challenges faced by the residents of Crescent Town in Toronto’s east end—she called the neighbourhood home for seven years after her family moved to Canada from Bangladesh. So when she was offered the chance to help a group of women, also from Bangladesh, get a small business off the ground in her old neighbourhood, she jumped at the opportunity.
“These women, they work in the factories and I know my Mom did the same thing when we first came,” says Shatabdi. “If those women can do something more fulfilling, I will feel so good about it.”
She was introduced to the group through GenNext™, a United Way program that connects individuals in their twenties and thirties who are looking to make a difference in the community with networking and volunteer opportunities. Shatabdi first learned about GenNext through ScotiaBank’s United Way campaign and promptly joined the bank’s GenNext group. Soon, she was receiving emails about volunteer opportunities with agencies across the city.
“Of course, not everything captured my interest,” says Shatabdi. “But then I received this email about a project that was right in the neighbourhood where I used to live.”
The project involved helping a group of women from Bangladesh start a small business producing hand-crafted clothing, bags and other items. Backed by Neighbourhood Link Support Services, a United Way partner providing social services to residents of East Toronto, the enterprise is aimed at helping the women support themselves while also acquiring experience running a business. After hearing about the project, Shatabdi was eager to volunteer as a consultant for the group.
“I went and met them and we had a meeting to talk about what they were expecting and what I had to do,” says Shatabdi. “And it started from there.”
While the women were skilled in design and tailoring, they were less familiar with how to go about running a business. Shatabdi showed them how to manage their money and market their products, and helped them negotiate legal hurdles, such as registering as a cooperative and acquiring their official name, the Dubia Design Collective. Shatabdi also worked with the group to produce a three-year business plan that led to a grant from the Toronto Enterprise Fund which supports social enterprises across the city. They haven’t looked back since.
“They’ve been selling their stuff in Kensington Market at Blue Bananas—they have shelf space there,” says Shatabdi. “And they have a Web site.”
Shatabdi plans to remain on-board as a consultant with the Dubia Design Collective to help them grow their business. As well, she is continuing her involvement with GenNext as a vice-chair of Scotiabank’s GenNext group. She is a firm believer in the value of the volunteer opportunities GenNext has to offer.
“These women are so thankful when you come and sit with them once a week and talk about the business. So there’s nothing more satisfying than that,” says Shatabdi. “My suggestion would be: give it a try. If after four hours you don’t like it, you never have to go back. But I can guarantee that if you do it, you’ll want to do it again.”
