George Yonemori is an English student at UTSC, an award-winning writer, and the co-creative director of Stay Golden, a non-profit organization. He describes the organization as “a very simple project run by complicated people.”
He explains that Stay Golden’s main goal is “to provide Scarborough youth with arts mentorship and community.” George recalls the origins of Stay Golden: “When our founder and executive director, [Henry Sales] ‘Shoolie,’ started as a spoken word poet, he had to commute downtown late into the night for opportunities. Stay Golden ensures Scarborough youth no longer have to make that journey.”
By offering local creative workshops, Stay Golden ensures that Scarborough youth are connected to mentorship and community.
Periodically, every Thursday, creative writing workshops are held in the library at Agincourt Baptist Church in Scarborough. In his conversation with The Varsity, George said that he started writing when he was 15, and that it was “just a hobby.”
It was a year after, in 2020, when George attended after-school workshops run by Shoolie and became inspired. “I found community, mentorship, and the motivation to keep going,” he said. By participating in these workshops himself as an events planner intern, he found the motivation to pursue what he loves. Now, he is the co-creative director.
One of George’s most notable achievements with Stay Golden was securing funding for the organization. “We didn’t have any funding in 2022, and I just got out of a relationship. I needed a distraction, and there was this grant I could apply for.” He wrote a piece for the grant and secured $170,000 for Stay Golden.
Not only did he secure such a large grant, but Global News featured him, giving Stay Golden a nationwide platform in February 2024. “It felt incredible… my culmination as an artist after five years of performing, writing, and rejection. Getting that email from Global News saying, ‘hey, we want you on TV for a national audience’ was surreal — I even had relatives in Edmonton watching live.” He described how amazing it felt to have himself and his organization shared nationally.
When asked what he gains from running a non-profit organization, George said, “Purpose. I find that purpose is a hot commodity in the modern world, and we’re so sick with options of things to do, but… we don’t [always] find the motivation to [act on them].” He explained that Stay Golden gives him a sense of purpose and is the most exciting part of his week.
His sense of success comes from the happiness of his workshop participants. When asked about his definition of success, he replied, “I suppose when a kid tells you that it’s the best part of their week, and that it helps them learn more about themselves.”
George’s advice for those interested in starting or getting involved with non-profit organizations is to “find the right people to build it with, because you can’t do this alone. You can’t build a community by yourself.”
He also offers another piece of advice: “A successful person is not someone who gets five acceptance letters. A successful person is someone who gets 50 rejection letters and celebrates their five acceptance letters.”
George emphasizes throughout the conversation that success is not possible without failure. He discloses that he submits his own work every day, facing constant rejection, but continues to push forward. He spends about six hours daily on social media, promoting Stay Golden through their Instagram, @staygoldenoutreach. He exemplifies how hard work and criticism are essential to achieving success.
“Art is a great way to introduce empathy, because empathy isn’t something you can learn. Empathy is something you feel. And when you feel a poem or a short story, you feel the other person’s feelings.” George explained. This sense of empathy through creative writing demonstrates why Stay Golden is such an important outlet for its participants.
George, who has a mixed heritage of Chinese and Egyptian descent, elaborates on the demographics of the Agincourt community: “Agincourt’s youth are predominantly second-generation East and South Asian immigrants… One of the main pillars of Stay Golden is to have BIPOC guest artists who can speak about the immigrant experience [and] speak about mental health in a racialized household.” By providing the community of Scarborough with BIPOC creative voices and guest artists, Stay Golden amplifies voices often left unheard.
The Varsity had the opportunity to hear from Lily Tadevosyan, a three-time Stay Golden graduate who led her own workshop in November 2024. She shared how Stay Golden helped her rediscover writing after the pandemic and provided a creative outlet.
“I stopped writing after sixth grade during COVID because I didn’t see the meaning in it… There was nowhere my work felt accepted. Coming here changed that — I performed poetry live for the first time, which was so important, especially with a poem close to my heart, written during a hard time, which is where the best poems come from.” Lily reflected on how Stay Golden allowed her to keep doing what she loves and be heard for it.
When asked how it felt to go from being a workshop participant to a workshop lead, Lily said, “It makes me emotional… I’m just really grateful for the opportunities and all the things that I’ve learned… It feels very inspiring, because [Yonemori] inspired me, and all the other workshops inspired me, and now I get to have maybe a fraction of the same influence on other people.” Lily’s experiences working with George through Stay Golden have motivated her to do for others what he did for her: provide creative youth with inspiration and passion.
“[George] help[s] me talk about the more emotional topics and helped me write from the heart, which helps me understand how I feel…” Lily is just one of many participants who have both grown and been inspired through Stay Golden workshops. As a source of therapy for some, George and the organization work to embrace emotion, helping youth find reprieve through the arts.
George is a clear mentor to so many of the youth attending Stay Golden workshops, but he also has mentors of his own. Shoolie, author Kern Carter, and poet Patrick de Belen are all important figures in George’s life. Skilled creators such as Carter and de Belen have also served as guest speakers in previous workshops, introducing participants to the impactful and inspiring perspectives of BIPOC creatives.
“I always knew I wanted to help people, and this is really helping people.” George’s support extends beyond physical needs to emotional support as well. Through Stay Golden, he has been instrumental in guiding the creative youth of Scarborough through expression and creation.
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