Children's Aid Foundation of Canada announces call for nominations for the 2nd annual Lynn Factor Stand Up for Kids National Award
Award recognizes Canadians who have improved lives of vulnerable kids
TORONTO, Jan. 31, 2019 /CNW/ - Children's Aid Foundation of Canada is pleased to open nominations for the 2nd annual Lynn Factor Stand Up for Kids National Award, recognizing extraordinary Canadians who have made an indelible mark on the child welfare landscape.
"The award is given to individuals, who through their ongoing dedication and incredible efforts, have improved the lives of abused or neglected children and youth," says Valerie McMurtry, President and CEO, Children's Aid Foundation of Canada. "We encourage Canadians to nominate people they know who are making a difference for at-risk children and youth in their local community or across the country."
Nominations can be made online at www.cafdn.org/stand-up-for-kids/stand-up-for-kids-national-award/ and must be received by March 29, 2019 at 5 pm ET.
The Lynn Factor Stand Up for Kids National Award winner will direct $50,000 and the five short-list nominees will direct $5,000 each in grants from Children's Aid Foundation of Canada to child- and youth-serving organizations in Canada that enable initiatives that advance the lives of vulnerable kids. The national award winner will be announced at Children's Aid Foundation of Canada's Stand Up for Kids Night in Toronto presented by CIBC on September 10, 2019.
Last year's inaugural award winner was Cindy Blackstock, PhD, Executive Director of First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada and Professor, School of Social Work at McGill University, who has dedicated her life to advocating for the rights of First Nations children. Ms. Blackstock selected We Matter, a national campaign for Indigenous youth, to receive her $50,000 award grant from Children's Aid Foundation of Canada.
"To be gifted the 2018 Lynn Factor Stand Up For Kids National Award grant on behalf of Cindy Blackstock is an absolute honour," says Tunchai Redvers, Co-Founder and Director, We Matter. "As the only national Indigenous youth-led life promotion organization, We Matter works hard to deliver messages, develop resources, and create space based on hope, culture, and strength. This award will allow us to build our National Ambassadors of Hope program so that our messaging and resources can reach even more Indigenous youth who need it."
The 2019 award winner will be selected by the Lynn Factor Stand Up for Kids National Award Committee, a group of community and business leaders recognized for their passion and dedication to making a difference in the lives of kids in the child welfare system. The committee members are:
- Chair Donald Guloien, immediate past President and CEO of Manulife and former board member and long-time volunteer for Children's Aid Foundation of Canada;
- Lynn Belzberg, social worker and Children's Aid Foundation of Canada Board Member;
- Dylan Cohen, Youth Organizer, BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition;
- Phillip Crawley , Publisher and CEO ,The Globe and Mail;
- Dr. Barbara Fallon, Professor; Canada Research Chair in Child Welfare; Associate Dean, Research; Ph.D., University of Toronto;
- Anna Amy Ho, Program Coordinator and Crisis Counsellor, Victim Services Toronto;
- The Right Honourable David Johnston, P.C., C.C., C.M.M., C.O.M., C.D.; former Governor General of Canada;
- The Honourable Peter MacKay, P.C., Q.C., ; partner at Baker McKenzie
- Susan McIsaac, Managing Director, Strategic Philanthropy, RBC Financial
- Paul Rosebush, CEO, Children's Aid Society of Toronto
- Rob Sedran, Managing Director, Capital Markets, CIBC
The award is named in honour of Lynn Factor, C.M., O.Ont, MSW, a long-standing Children's Aid Foundation of Canada volunteer and past Board Chair, who as a social worker by profession has served for over 35 years on the frontlines of child welfare and has seen the damaging impact on children living under the weight of abuse, neglect and trauma. In recognition of Lynn Factor's extraordinary commitment to Canada's most vulnerable children , Children's Aid Foundation of Canada and Lynn's husband, Sheldon Inwentash, named the Stand Up for Kids National Award in her honour.
The Lynn Factor Stand Up for Kids National Award is part of Children's Aid Foundation of Canada's Stand Up for Kids national campaign for child welfare, which is mobilizing Canadians who want to help change the future for Canada's most at-risk children and youth.
About Children's Aid Foundation of Canada
Children's Aid Foundation of Canada is our country's leading charity dedicated to improving the lives of children and youth growing up in the child welfare system. We raise and grant funds, and deliver a wide range of high-impact programs and services that support more than 24,000 vulnerable young people annually. Stand Up for Kids is our national campaign for child welfare, which aims to change the futures of Canada's most at-risk kids ? those who have experienced abuse and neglect. We know that by helping these young people to overcome their trauma and break the cycle for future generations, they gain the strength and resilience to create a lifetime of their own unstoppable successes.
SOURCE Children's Aid Foundation of Canada
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