2017 Pillar Awards announced

Justin Tiseo received the Ontario Medal for Young Volunteers on Wednesday, May 10, 2017. (Courtesy the Government of Ontario)

More than 850 guests were on hand to learn who the winners of the 2017 Pillar Community Innovation Awards were Wednesday evening.

A gala event was held at the Convention Centre for the announcement of the winners.

There were five categories to be celebrated including Innovation, Leadership, Impact, Collaboration, and Community Choice.

The winners for each category are:

Community Innovation: (+) Positive Voice at Nokee Kwe– a program created to support urban Aboriginal women in creating positive narratives and community connections.

Community Leadership: Justin Tiseo– leader and creator of JP2 (John Paul II Catholic Secondary School) ONERUN, turning a one day fundraiser for cancer patient care into a city-wide, week long initiative engaging high school students and raising over $260,000 to date.

Community Impact:Community Engaged Learning at Western University - The courses and programs aim to help students strengthen their sense of civic responsibility and understanding of social justice, while giving students the hands-on experiences to connect what they’re learning in the classroom, to what’s happening outside of it.

Community Collaboration: Baby’s Book Bag: Literacy Right from the Start – Created by London’s Child and Youth Network Literacy Team with help from Kiwanis Club of Forest City-London, this initiative provides new and expectant parents in London with a free literacy bag containing practical, hands-on tools and information to use as soon as their baby is born.

Community Choice: Childreach’s WILD CHILD Outdoor Playgroup– an effort to motivate children and families to immerse themselves back into nature and outdoor activities, to improve the social, emotional, and physical well-being of children that comes from outdoor play.