Northern Ontario residents receive provincial volunteer awards

Three Northern Ontario residents have been named as recipients of the Ontario Government's June Callwood Outstanding Achievement Award for their commitment to volunteerism.

Linda Bruins of Thunder Bay helped establish Evergreen in 2005, a United Way community project aimed at promoting a safer community.

She works with youth who are at risk of gang and drug influence, and is also an active volunteer with the PARO Centre, an organization that helps women across Northern Ontario to start, grow or build new business opportunities.

Tom Hedican of North Bay is a professional hockey consultant who started Coach4Food in 2005 to benefit the North Bay Food Bank.

Tom runs hockey and ringette practices for kids, asking only for a food-bank donation.

In 2010 Tom raised 108,000 pounds of food and continues to expand his program across Ontario.

Barbara Stevens-Burns of Sudbury works hard to make sure that Aboriginal people in her community receive as many opportunities as possible for social and personal development.

She advocates at many board and committee tables, including the Children's Aid Society and the Urban Aboriginal People's Council.

Full text of a news release issued by the Government of Ontario follows.

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Honouring Ontario's outstanding volunteers

McGuinty Government presents 2012 June Callwood Awards

Ontario is recognizing 11 people and seven organizations with a June Callwood Outstanding Achievement Award, for their commitment to volunteerism and longstanding service to their communities.

Recipients are selected for sharing June Callwood's exceptional leadership and innovative spirit, and her unwavering commitment to helping others.

This year's recipients include:

• A volunteer firefighter who has served more than half a million hours and almost 60 years of service
• An advocate for social justice for people with intellectual disabilities
• A community group that helps to feed over 3,000 kids on school breakfast and snack programs
• An organization that provides front-line suicide prevention and crisis support, responding to 120,000 calls each year.

Recognizing Ontario's volunteers is part of the McGuinty government's commitment to strengthen the not-for-profit sector and build on our strong culture of volunteerism.

Quotes

"This award is a fitting way to recognize the people in our province who, like June Callwood, not only put others first, but are using innovative ways to make life better for their fellow Ontarians." - Charles Sousa, minister of citizenship and immigration

Quick facts

Late journalist and author June Callwood was one of Canada's most well-known social activists, founding or co-founding more than 50 Canadian social action organizations.

The award is presented during National Volunteer Week, which runs April 15 to 21.

Five million Ontarians volunteer more than 800 million hours annually.

Other Ontario recognition programs for voluntarism include the Ontario Medal for Young Volunteers, the Volunteer Service Awards and the Newcomer Champion Awards - ChangeTheWorld Youth Ambassador.

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