2016 WINNERS
Excerpted from our media partner Canadian Living. Read the full article here.
AUTUMN PELTIER, 12
Youth in Action (12 & under)
“There are First Nations communities that don’t have clean drinking water. Kids, elders and youth—all those people can’t drink the water,” says Autumn Peltier, who has become an environmental conservation advocate in her community and beyond. She knows that a world without water is no world at all. “Water is everything. It’s the lifeblood of Mother Earth. It brings new life,” she says. That’s why she’s been speaking publicly—to everyone from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to the kids at her school—to advocate for healthy water. Last fall, she even represented Canada at the Children’s Climate Conference in Sweden, where children gathered to create a list of demands for world leaders in advance of the Paris UN Climate Change Conference. When Autumn’s not giving talks about our lakes and rivers, she’s participating in shoreline and community cleanups, getting rid of garbage that litters the nature around her. The goal is to make the world a better place for kids who come after her. “I want to be a role model for my kids and my grandchildren,” says Autumn.
DANIEL SEQUEIRA, 18
Youth in Action (13-17)
Five years ago, Daniel and his older brother, Nick, saw a kid about their age sitting outside the local grocery store asking for food. “We knew we had to do something, but we didn’t know what,” says Daniel. He and his brother began approaching local organizations and food banks to find out how they could help but were told they were too young—that is, until they approached the Peel District School Board. A social worker with the board, Jim Van Buskirk, helped them come up with the idea of giving grocery gift cards to families in need. By the following year, 2012, they had set up a registered charity called Two Kids for Change. In all, they’ve raised $23,000 toward grocery gift cards. School board social workers distribute the cards to needy families so the recipients remain anonymous to the charity, but Daniel has received letters from families explaining that some of them have been through cancer, car accidents or addictions. “Even though we never got to actually meet the families, we got to read their stories, and I think that’s enough to keep Nick and me motivated,” he says.
XAVIER WEST, 14
WE Charity Youth
Xavier West had listened intently as public speaker and WE Charity cofounder Craig Kielburger told a story about a visit to Brazil. Kielburger recalled being invited to play a game of soccer with a group of local kids: When the kids went to get the “ball,” they returned with a discarded water bottle. The story struck a chord with Xavier, who was 10 at the time. That Christmas, instead of asking for toys, Xavier asked Santa to deliver a goat to a needy family. And when he learned that WE Charity could build a new school in Kenya for $8,500, he set his sights on raising the money. “I get a lot out of education, and I feel that other kids should have education as well,” he says. It took four years, but Xavier finally raised enough money to build a school. But that wasn’t the end of his work. This past summer, Xavier’s grandfather rewarded him with a ME to WE family trip to Kenya. He travelled with his mother, sister and grandmother to help build a WE Charity school, and he saw the impact of his work. “The idea isn’t a handout but a hand up—they’re trying to create a sustainable community,” he says. “I was really honoured to be there with them.”
KERI ALBERT, 38
Educator
You might not find students sitting quietly at desks in Keri Albert’s classroom, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t learning. Keri’s class moves between a chapel, a garden and a meeting room, while her students—who range in age from 10 to 90 years old (and beyond!)—study math, science and reading, often while playing games, listening to visitors or doing hands-on activities. It’s a program called iGen, an intergenerational classroom that offers Grade 6 students the opportunity to learn alongside elders at the Sherbrooke Community Centre in Saskatoon. Keri got the idea for iGen while studying alternative education models as part of her master of education program. She partnered with the Sherbrooke Community Centre to develop a program that would benefit both kids and elders, and launched the first iGen class in 2014. “The children learn to have friendships with people of all ages and all abilities,” says Keri. And the elders? “They say the kids bring them energy. They bring variety and spontaneity into their lives, and give them new and exciting things to think about.” Keri hopes others in Canada and around the world will see this model and venture to try something similar in their own schools. “Be courageous,” she says. “I have learned that things seem really complicated, but being somebody who can effect change in the world is very simple.”
VICTORIA STOSKY, 22
Social Action
Victoria Stosky has devoted much of her university career to empowering former sex-trade workers to become financially independent through education, job skills and money management—but she doesn’t see it as giving back. “We’re part of the same world and should be given equal opportunities,” says the business student and soon-to-be university grad. Victoria helps lead a program called EmpowerU, an initiative of Enactus, the world’s largest student-run international nonprofit organization, which seeks to create sustainable change through entrepreneurship. She is currently a copresident of the Enactus team at Calgary’s Mount Royal University and says being part of the organization has been just as beneficial for her as it has been for the women whose lives she has helped turn around. Many women complete EmpowerU, and some even apply to, and are accepted into, a school program. “For those women, they finally see their impossible dreams as a reality. It’s like a light at the end of the tunnel,” she says. And for her, it’s a chance to put her major in human resources and minors in entrepreneurship and social innovation to immediate good use. She’s developed her leadership skills and made both friends and professional connections. But, “most of all, it’s about following my passion,” she says.
TENILLE NADKRYNECHNY, 22
In the Community
Tenille Nadkrynechny’s whole worldview changed when she came across a pamphlet for Sunrise House, a youth shelter in her hometown of Grande Prairie, Alta. “I had no idea that youth in our community were sleeping in a shelter every night. It shocked me,” she says. Tenille, who was 15 at the time, had always loved to sing and had started playing guitar the year before. So she decided to gather some friends for a concert, going door-to-door for sponsors and donating the proceeds to the Grande Prairie Youth Emergency Shelter Society, the organization that runs the city’s shelters; she called it Big Hearts for Big Kids. Unfortunately, on the day of the event, the shelter director came to Tenille distraught because Sunrise House was shutting down immediately due to lack of funding. But they didn’t lose hope; instead, Tenille and her friends went ahead with the event and raised $30,000. They did it all over again the next year, and within a year and a half, the youth shelter was renovated and running again, due in large part to the money and awareness raised by the concerts. Today, Big Hearts for Big Kids has raised $1 million. Not only has the annual event benefited the hundreds of kids who rely on the shelter but it has also helped unite the Grande Prairie community. “It has completely shaped my life and given me so much perspective to witness what the power of people coming together can do.”
THE BODANIS FAMILY:
David, Irene, James, Jake & Jonathan
WE Family
Step inside the Jake’s House annual Christmas/holiday party in Toronto and you’ll find kids jumping in bouncy castles, smiling faces being painted with festive designs, billows of cotton candy being devoured and a jolly Santa handing out gift-wrapped boxes. It’s a child’s dream come true, and for the hundreds of autistic children in attendance, it’s an experience that might not happen if it weren’t for the Bodanis family and the volunteers who help run Jake’s House, a charity aimed at supporting autistic kids and their families. David and Irene Bodanis, who have two autistic boys of their own—Jake and Jonathan—began hosting the party in 2004 after realizing that most autistic kids don’t get invited to parties. The first year, they hosted 25 kids and their families, paying for gifts and food themselves. As the party has grown, they and their eldest son, James, have held fundraising events, such as runs and golf tournaments, throughout the year and enlisted volunteers to help run activities and dish up food when the big day arrives. Last year, 353 kids (alongside their parents and siblings) attended. The Bodanis family has been overjoyed at the way the community has embraced their organization. They’re in talks to partner with Big Brothers Big Sisters, a move that would offer social connections to the kids and support to the families on a more regular basis. The new program, called the Legends Program, seeks to pair autistic children with young mentors. David says the program would help kids develop friendships, be included in activities and have an advocate who can help them communicate. Today, Jake’s House has become much more than a family endeavour. “Irene and I could have helped maybe three or four families ourselves,” says David. “Now that we have thousands of volunteers, we can help thousands of families. It’s become an organization for the community, supported by the community. And we’re just part of it.”
