A Burlington, Ont., mother was unsettled to discover that an old photo of her children had been used in a fraudulent GoFundMe that attempted to elicit donations in connection the recent Texas floods.

Julie Cole told Global News that a friend had contacted her on social media to say that an old photo of her six children was being used in an attempt to collect ill-gotten gains.

“She reached out to me and she was like, ‘Hey, here’s a link to a GoFundMe. Sorry this has happened to you, but obviously a picture of your kids has been used without your consent and it’s being used for a GoFundMe to raise money, to help a family dealing with the Texas floods,’” she said.

Cole explained that the fake GoFundMe, which has since been removed by the company, was looking for donations to support a widowed mother of six kids in connection.

At least 120 people have died while more than 100 others remain unaccounted for as a result of the flooding, including 27 children and councilors from Camp Mystic.

“They were trying to raise $40,000 because of the three daughters had been victims of the Texas floods,” Cole said. “And the way it was presented felt very much like they were part of maybe that girl’s camp.”

Cole said once the listing was sent to her, she immediately contacted GoFundMe to get the fundraiser taken down.

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By Wednesday morning, the company had done so and in a statement to Global News, GoFundMe said that the fundraiser did not receive any donations and the account has been banned from creating any further fundraisers on the platform.

“GoFundMe has the most robust donor protection processes of any platform of our kind. We have round the clock trust and safety support, humans and technology making sure funds will get to where they are intended,” the statement offered.

After contacting the company, Cole said she shared the incident on her social media pages to raise awareness.

“So I did put it on my Facebook and I put it in my LinkedIn as like a heads-up learning experience kind of thing and there was a lot of outrage,” she said.

Cole also noted that while she is disappointed by the incident, she is well aware that her troubles are miniscule in comparison to those affected by the flooding.

“I do feel a little bit in myself that what I’m feeling is in no way comparable to what the actual families are feeling who have gone through the tragedies of the flooding,” she said.

The photo came from an old blog post she had written 16 years ago. Cole can date the picture as the baby in the photo is now getting ready to go for his driver’s test.

“I’m one of those, like, OG mommy bloggers from 20 years ago. So my kids have been on the internet. They have been sort of in the public eye,” she explained.

“And I know the risk is out there. And I think parents need to remember that, that their kids’ photos can be just screenshotted and used without consent. So there’s one lesson.

“I felt a little, well, very unsettled about it, particularly because of what it was being used for.”

In addition to being a parenting blogger, she also helped found Mabel’s Labels, which offers washable labels for kids clothing and other school items, in an effort to keep them out of the lost and found.

Being a spokesperson for the company while raising six kids keeps her in the parenting sphere and she offered some other advice to parents about the images and social media.

“I think parents just have to be mindful and aware that once it’s out there, you know you’d like to think you’ll get consent or you’ll give consent if somebody asks or they want to use it, but people will just take it and they can just take,” she said.

“You have to be especially careful now with AI, because these photos can be altered.”

She also warned parents to check with their kids as they get older to see if they are OK with pics being posted and that people should be mindful of where they are sharing their donations.

“Another lesson out of this is people need to really be cautious and know where they’re putting their fundraising dollars,” Cole said.

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ARC World may be a celebration of Asian culture, but organizer Clement Chu hopes that people from all backgrounds come and enjoy the one-day festival in downtown Toronto.

Food, shops, music and speakers will all be featured at Toronto Metropolitan University’s Kerr Hall on Saturday, with a celebrity basketball game including actor Simu Liu and former Toronto Raptors star Jeremy Lin the day’s finale. Chu said that there will be something for everyone, whether they have ties to Asia or not.

“The stories that some of these people are telling here, it’s not just necessarily about them being Asian but it’s a story of resilience,” he said in a recent phone interview. “These are stories that apply way beyond, the Asian community so we hope people get that out of it.

“We hope people come enjoy the things that come from our culture, whether it’s food or art or entertainment. More than anything else, we want to get young people out and volunteering and making contributions back to the community, because we feel a lot of that was lost during COVID.”

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Originally named the Chinese Canadian Youth Athletic Association, the Asian Roots Collective was founded 30 years ago by Chu and his friends to create a safe space to play basketball. Chu said that over time the organization’s mission has broadened to include people with connections to all of Asia and to encompass other “universal languages” that, like basketball, can bring people together even if there are other linguistic or cultural barriers.

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“We want to showcase all these things that are excellent, that are happening,” said Chu. “So we decided to change the direction of the organization a little bit, because we’re no longer just Chinese, we’re no longer just youth oriented programs, and we’re sure as heck not just athletics.

“We wanted to have a calling card that was more representative of what we’re doing. This year is the first year we’re launching ARC World, which is this convention where we’re celebrating all things Asian.”

The acronym ARC still reflects those roots in basketball, however.

“Because we come from basketball, (the name) is like the three-point arc, your shot arc, but we’re trying to tell a story now so this is a narrative arc,” said Chu. “That was the inspiration behind the name of the organization.”

ARC has come a long way since it was founded in 1995, the same year the Raptors started playing in Toronto. Back then, Chu and other leaders within the organization had to rent basketball courts at local high schools. Now they have their own athletic centre in Markham, Ont.

“We used to make that joke about, ‘oh, you know, one day, as opposed to renting schools, we’d love to have the keys to gym,’ because that’s the dream of every kid, to have the keys to gym so you could shoot around,” he said. “It’s just funny because, like, fast forward, 30 years later, through some of these initiatives, we were able to raise enough money to build our own mini-community centre with a basketball hoop and stuff, but so now we do have the keys to the gym which is pretty, pretty cool.

“The only downside is, I’m so old now that I can’t really play anymore, but the kids now have a place to run around, we have video games there, art, we teach coding, it’s gone far beyond just basketball.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 11, 2025.

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A Toronto man has sparked online outrage after being charged for allegedly using a drone to peer into the windows of two women living in a downtown condominium.

The incident occurred on March 1 in the area of Beverley and Dundas streets. Toronto police say a 32-year-old man was arrested on March 18 and charged with secretly observing or recording a person expecting privacy, and with criminal harassment by watching and besetting.

He was scheduled to appear in court on May 1.

While the case involves a specific incident, concerns over drones flying near private residences appear to be growing, with other individuals coming out about their own encounters.

Two Toronto women told Global News they experienced similar drone sightings in recent weeks, though their situations were unrelated to the charges laid against the man.

Diane Pelligrino, who lives near Bloor and Sherbourne streets, said she spotted a drone hovering just outside her window while she was working from home.

“I looked up and thought, ‘What is that?’ At first, I thought it was a bird, but it was so close and then I realized it was a drone,” Pelligrino told Global News.

“It felt really creepy cause I work with my windows open and my blinds up all the time.”

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She said she didn’t know what to do at the time.

“I actually Googled it,” she said. “I wasn’t sure if they were allowed in the area. I live near a school, and I’d read there are restrictions around that. I ended up talking to a neighbour who agreed it was concerning.”

Although Pelligrino didn’t initially report the incident, she took a photo of the drone as it was flying away in fear that it could happen again.

Another woman, Maria Blanchette, told Global News she recalls waking up in the middle of the night and seeing a large drone outside her condo window.

“It was just hovering,” she said. “Then it dropped down to the floor below mine and stayed there. It was very odd. I was scared for days.”

Under Canadian law, drone operators are required to respect the privacy rights of individuals.

The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act makes it illegal to collect images or personal data in places where people expect privacy, such as homes, condo units, or backyards.

Const. Laura Brabant told Global News police don’t receive many calls about drones, but incidents like voyeurism are treated seriously.

“If someone reports a drone hovering outside their window, an officer would typically be dispatched to try to locate the drone and its operator,” Brabant said. “We encourage people to record as many details as possible including what the drone looked like, how it moved, and if an operator was visible and share that with police.”

Transport Canada requires that drones over 250 grams be registered and flown only by licensed pilots.

Drone pilots must carry a valid certificate and follow aviation regulations, including restrictions around flying near people or private property. “We investigate reports of unsafe flying and may involve local police if other laws are broken,” Transport Canada states.

For those unsure of what to do, police advise calling 911 in the case of suspected criminal activity and reporting any concerning behaviour.

Pelligrino said she now pays much closer attention to her windows.

“You don’t know what they’re looking at. It really feels like an invasion of privacy,” she said.

“I’m just glad to know that something can be done if it happens again.”

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