Cousins Lance Waddell and Brione Wishart inspiring youths to elevate to achieve
February 12, 2025
Returning home from middle school in the late 1990s, Lance Waddell noticed that the couch in the living room was missing.
When asked, Lynette Waddell told her son, ‘Someone else needed it and we will find another one’.
That was not the last time he witnessed his mother’s unsparing generosity.
Waddell, a huge fan of the G.I. Joe American military science fiction, treasured his Transformer toy collection.
“As I got older, I didn’t play with them and they were in the basement collecting dust,” he recounted. “One day I went looking for them and they were gone. Mom said some kids needed the toys I was not playing with. At the time, I was very upset. Now, I feel otherwise. As the years went by, you started to see the mission that she was on. You could see how thoughtful she was in assisting those in need amid being a single mother raising children. The weight of that responsibility never clouded her vision to extend a helping hand to those less fortunate.”
Two years younger, Brione Wishart connected with Waddell – his cousin – soon after migrating from Guyana 37 years ago.
He remembers his mother, Roxanne Wishart, coming home from two jobs and jumping on the sewing machine to make dresses.
“My mother is a hustler and I mean that in a good way,” Wishart said. “In Guyana, she had a mobile ‘sweetie cart’ that she pushed up and down Sherriff St. The money she got from that supplemented what she made as a seamstress which she has been doing since age 17. She came to Canada on a mission to provide opportunities for us to succeed and she never wavered from that position. Along the way, she saved enough money to buy properties. Seeing her put in the work and staying focussed on her goals motivated me and my siblings.”
Inspired by their mothers, generosity is in the DNA of the cousins who are using their talent and creative skills to uplift young people.
Recognized with a Harry Jerome Award for Volunteerism in 1997, Lynette Waddell passed away four years before her son became a Toronto Police Service uniformed member in 2006.
Constable Lance Waddell gets a congratulatory hug from retired Inspector Sonia Thomas at his graduation in 2006. She was a Training Officer at the College at the time (Photo contributed)
Roxanne Wishart continues to combine artistry and technique to create fashionable dresses while her son is a creative entrepreneur and award-winning designer.
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and the George Floyd murder that sparked unprecedented protests, Wishart reached out to Waddell with an idea ‘to do something’.
Waddell didn’t believe the timing was right.
“I told him not right now and our time will come,” he said. “Too many things were happening and tensions were high. In addition, I was a Neighbourhood Community Officer in 42 Division developing relationships and building trust between the community and the police. A few months later when Brione indicated he wanted to work with the community, I told him I had one which is Glendower.”
Every community tends to have a few people that stand out because of their wisdom, leadership and ability to bring people together.
In Glendower, Cyleta Gibson-Sealy is one of those.
She runs a homework club, Beyond Academics, on the ground floor of the 12-storey Toronto Community Housing apartment building at the southeast corner of Birchmount Rd. and Finch Ave. E.
While crafting a blueprint for their community engagement approach, Waddell and recently retired Constable Shawn Klodt recognized that their first point of contact should be community elders.
“They are the people leading and doing the work,” he said. “When I met Cyleta, I saw a piece of my mom. She coordinated with Toronto Community Housing to get a space and educated kids in her backyard, doing everything she could to empower them. All that was left for me and Shawn to do was support the work she was doing. As police officers, it is not about just driving the squad car through a neighbourhood. It is for us to empower the people in the community. Police officers have access to many resources that we can share with the community.
“As I worked with Cyleta, we discovered she worked with a partner, Michelle Leslie, who runs a nearby foodbank and was working for Agincourt Community Services. We said these are our people, we gave them the resources and, in the process, built trust.”
Just before the start of the September 2023 school semester, the cousins took five barbers into the community to cut young boys’ hair for the new school year.
“We did about 50 and some of the parents got haircuts too,” said Wishart who is a former hip-hop artist. “We also gave the youths hoodies, backpacks and Subway sandwiches. Kofi Frempong, who is an artist, also came through and created a canvas that the kids were part of. That was donated to Cyleta’s space. It was a fun day and the coolest part was watching her take it all in. It was her day to sit back and just relax.”
ProAction Cops & Kids, the largest private funder for Toronto Police youth programs, recognized the pop-up barbershop in 2023 with the Jack Sinclair Award. He is one of the organization’s first Directors.
Toronto Police Service Chief Myron Demkiw & Deputy Chief Lauren Pogue with Constable Lance Waddell and Brione Wishart at the ProAction Cops & Kids awards ceremony in 2023 (Photo contributed)
During the pandemic lockdown, thieves broke into a storage space Gibson-Sealy used and stole computers, a television and other learning material.
Once word got out, communities far and wide responded.
Recommended by Detective Richard Shaw who was at 42 Division before joining the Sex Crimes Unit a year ago, the Toronto Police Chinese Community Consultative Committee awarded a grant to Gibson-Sealy.
Popular New York-based DJ Flexx – through his Flexx Nation Facebook group – contributed two laptop computers and a Smart television, Bluetooth wireless speaker, DVD player and cash.
“While in Toronto for the annual Caribbean Carnival, I heard about the excellent work this lady is doing in the community and that much of her educational material was stolen,” said the disc jockey. “That broke my heart and inspired me to use my network to help her get back on her feet.”
Constable Lance Waddell (l) with Brione Wishart, Cyleta Sealy-Gibson and retired Inspector James Huang at the Toronto Police Chinese Consultative Committee 2023 gala (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
Last year, Wishart and Waddell launched Elevate to Achieve which aims to empower young people in challenged communities through education and skill development.
Cognizant that hip-hop and police have had a complicated relationship, Wishart knew some people would scoff at him for partnering with the police.
He didn’t care.
“I know my cousin and what he stands for,” said Wishart who started The Hustle Never Dies that is an award-winning lifestyle brand. “He has introduced me to many cops who are doing amazing work in the community, contributing their time and money. We knew we could make an impact by utilizing our skills set and lived experiences while collaborating with police.”
The first initiative Waddell and Wishart arranged under the Elevate to Achieve banner was a Youth Career Summit at Malvern Library in January 2024. Neighbourhood Community Officers from 42 Division assisted with the event.
Jay Williams (second from left back row) with fellow panellists Siobhan Wright (l), Clance Laylor, Flo King, co-organizer Brione Wishart and Keysha Freshh at the Youth Career Summit at Malvern Library on January 27, 2024. Several Toronto Police 42 Division Neighbourhood Community Officers attended, including Ramace Persaud, Shawn Klodt, Lancelot Waddell, Richard Shaw and Jason Obey (r) (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
The panel included educator and community worker Jay Williams who died six weeks later.
“What Jay represented is what we represent,” said Wishart whose father, George Changlee, passed away in 2018. “His sudden death sparked us to want to do more.”
Two other summits were held last year at Tropicana Community Services Organization.
Participants at the Youth Career Summit at Tropicana Community Services in 2024 (Photo contributed)
Pursuing a digital media career in his teenage years, Waddell changed course and looked for a job that offered stability.
While browsing through the Toronto Police uniformed member job description, he saw officers worked with local communities to address crime, anti-social behaviour and quality life issues.
That caught his attention and he applied.
“Born and raised in this city, I knew this is where I wanted to be,” said Waddell who finished high school at George S Henry Academy in North York. “I wanted to do what my mom did. The only difference is I have more tools at my disposal.”
While policing is rewarding, offering opportunities to serve the community, it is also challenging with demanding hours, personal sacrifices and stress.
The first few years took a toll on Waddell who considered quitting.
“I was not happy with the type of work I was doing to the point I wondered why I was in the organization,” he noted. “The job affected my relationship with my family and friends.”
Becoming a School Resource Officer was a turning point in his career.
“That is when I knew this was what I signed up for and I could make a significant impact as a community-based officer,” Waddell, who completed the Digital Media & Design diploma program at the defunct International Academy of Design & Technology, said. “I was in Lawrence Heights that has faced challenges.”
While at Sir Sanford Fleming Academy which was one of the schools he was assigned to, the officer met Rashid Mbarouk whose family migrated from Tanzania in 2004.
When the Guidance Counsellor learnt the newcomer wanted to be a police officer, she facilitated the introduction.
In the summer of 2023, Mbarouk joined Canada’s largest municipal police service.
While completing training at Toronto Police College, he ran into Waddell who was doing a course.
“The young man appeared nervous but looked me straight in the eye and asked if I was ‘Officer Lance’,” he recalled. “Because of the type of course I was on, I was not in uniform. Once I confirmed it was me, he asked if I remembered him. It took a few moments, but I recognized his face. I said ‘Rashid’ and then was overcome with joy and a few tears after he said I was the one that inspired him to become a police officer. That encounter was deeply moving.”
Waddell presented Mbarouk with his badge on graduation day.
Constable Lance Waddell (r) inspired Rashid Mbarouk to become a police officer (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
Introduced to hip-hop by older brother Dain Wishart and Waddell, Wishart fell in love with the urban music genre shortly after landing in Toronto.
“I thought it was cool and wanted to be a hip-hop artist,” he said. “My cousin’s sister was dating Tony Grace who was a member of Boomtang Boys (dance remix musicians and music producers) that were doing something different from hip hop. I went to the studio and wrote lyrics while Tony was building a beat. We recorded one or two songs. I was still in school and not focussed on music.”
After high school, Wishart recorded his first demo under the moniker ‘Aristo’, struck a deal with an independent record label and toured with Akon and Gwen Stefani.
“I was flourishing as an artist, but I wanted more from an entrepreneurial perspective,” he said. “I was good at marketing. While many guys were at Yonge & Dundas Sts. selling mixtapes, I had about 1,000 at the back of my truck that I gave away.”
While enjoying doing music and sharing it freely, the birth of his first child -- Kyeem Wishart who is enrolled in Toronto Metropolitan University Psychology program – altered Wishart’s perspective on life.
“I was not making money,” the married father of two children said. “I managed artists, songwriters, producers and directors for a few years until it hit me that I cared more about their careers than most of them did. Instead of putting so much effort and time into them, it occurred to me that I would be better off doing that for myself.”
Constable Lance Waddell (l) & Brione Wishart with Superintendent LeeAnn Papizewski who is the 42 Division Unit Commander (Photo contributed)
Leaving a music career can be difficult.
“I was depressed for about two years because I was committed to that career for a decade,” he said. “However, I had a child I had to take care of. After two years of trying to find myself, I started interviewing successful entrepreneurs and posted their stories on a website I created. About 90 percent of them loved the content and asked me to collaborate with them on creative projects.”
In 2017, Wishart launched Artlee Creative Agency which builds and grows brand advocacy and loyalty through visually engaging content.
His clients include Nike, BMW, Capitol One and Le Germain Hotel.
“I wanted to create something that I could pass on,” said Wishart who sits on the Advisory Board of Quell which is a talent management & consulting agency focused on amplifying underrepresented leaders in the food, drink, health and lifestyle space.
