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Volunteer Awards 2010
Every year Family Service Toronto honours the extraordinary efforts of volunteers through a series of four FST volunteer recognition awards. Each award has a different focus and reflects a different set of criteria. The 2009 Volunteer awards were presented at our Annual General Meeting on June 9.
Family Service Toronto Youth Volunteer Award
Julie Bulmash and Ifeoluwa Kolade
Young volunteers become tomorrow's leaders. This award recognizes young people who are deeply engaged as volunteers at Family Service Toronto or elsewhere and, as a result, make outstanding contributions. Whether alone or as part of a group, in providing direct service to clients, spearheading a special project or crusading on behalf of a larger social issue, the nominee(s) will embody Family Service Toronto's values, such as increasing access and participation in the community and building strong communities.
The recipient of this year’s Youth Award is Ifeoluwa Kolade.
Ife brings a wide range of strengths and skills to her volunteer work with Social Reform and Growing Up Healthy Downtown. Her excellent research skills and commitment to doing her best are always greatly appreciated. Ife’s positive attitude and willingness to take on new tasks make her an invaluable member of our FST volunteer team.
Ife has exceptional skills in the areas of technology and uses the Internet and various web-based applications with great facility and ease. She was instrumental in revamping the Campaign 2000 website, which involved copying, moving and editing pages and pages of materials and information.
Family Service Toronto Pat Fleming Seniors Volunteer Award
Dr. Fazl receiving the award from Anita Lapidus, FST past chair and Pat FlemingMany people are looking forward to longer lives. However, some won't enjoy the dignity and respect older citizens richly deserve. With the Family Service Toronto Pat Fleming Seniors Award, Family Service Toronto recognizes a volunteer who has made a significant contribution to our work with seniors. The recipient will be a person who understands the vulnerability and marginalization of many of the seniors Family Service Toronto serves. The recipient's work will have contributed to increasing the wellness, self-esteem, safety and self-respect of seniors.
This year’s Pat Fleming award recipient is Dr. Syed Fazl
Dr. Fazl is President of the board of directors of the Afghan Canadian Seniors Centre and has been instrumental in integrating the Afghan Senior Community into FST’s Illahee Community Connections program over the past four years. His strong interest in capacity building has led him to organize workshops and recreational outings for the seniors, and he is dedicated to helping seniors with diverse service needs.
Dr. Fazl mentors members of his community and takes a leadership role in public education and discussion sessions developed for the Afghan seniors. He is also an ambassador to the other communities served by the Illahee Community Connections program, which has helped to promote cross cultural friendships. Dr. Fazl is an outstanding volunteer who is an asset to FST and the Illahee Community Connections program.
Family Service Toronto Community Service Award
Miriam DiGiuseppe, Vice-President, and Mohamed Ali-Aden
With this award, Family ServiceFamily Service Toronto honours the outstanding contribution(s) of an individual or group to the well-being of our city and its citizens. Nominees can come from all sectors and will have demonstrated having made a positive impact on life for individuals and/or families by being an agent of change, a role model for inclusivity and/or a leader in improving life in Toronto.
The recipient of this year’s Community Service Award is Mohamed Ali-Aden.
In May 2008 Mohamed Ali-Aden started a tutorial group for children and youth in the Lawrence Heights neighbourhood. During the first year the children's reading skills improved and their classroom attendance increased. As word about the program spread, more neighbourhood children and youth joined the group and other parents began tutoring as well. The program became a community effort. As the program developed, it became more focused on developing math skills, and many of the children’s grades improved from C's to A’s.
Mohamed has demonstrated that there are concrete ways to help children succeed at school without relying on the school system to address all the challenges faced by new immigrant children. He is a role model for parents to get involved with their children and come together as a community to solve problems collectively. Mohamed made a huge difference in his community!
