Recognizing our young leaders

Our community focus for the past six weeks has been on political leaders. So now let’s turn our attention to the young leaders of Downtown Toronto and the neighbourhoods The Bulletin serves: Cabbagetown, Corktown, Liberty Village, Leslieville, Garden District, Queen’s Quay, Bathurst Quay, The Kings and Queens, St. Lawrence, The Garden District, Toronto Islands, Church-Wellesley.

Many of our youth are already giving of their time and energy to make Downtown a great place to live and work. These young people intuitively understand what the word “community” is really about and unselfishly give of themselves by volunteering with different local groups and clubs, at school, at churches, with sports, and more.

That’s why The Bulletin strongly supports the Ontario Junior Citizen of the Year Awards so we can provide recognition for outstanding young people who are, and will continue to be, leaders in our city. The awards program is coordinated by the Ontario Community Newspapers Association (OCNA), of which we are a member, and sponsored by TD Canada Trust.

Any Ontario resident aged 6-17 is eligible to receive an Ontario Junior Citizen of the Year Award. Please help us by nominating an individual in one of four areas:

• A person involved in worthwhile community service.

• A special young person contributing to his or her community while living with a physical or psychological limitation.

• An individual who has performed an act of heroism in the past year.

• Good kids who show a commitment to make life better for others and do more than is normally expected of someone their age.

Each nominee will receive a certificate of recognition. Up to 12 of the nominees and one group will be chosen as the final recipients of the provincial award and invited to a special ceremony held in Toronto this spring.

Your vote counts with this newspaper. Nominate an outstanding young person today, and we will personally present them with a certificate of recognition and showcase their contributions in this newspaper. Help us to pay tribute to our leaders of today and tomorrow.

Nomination deadline for the 2008  Awards is Nov. 30.

Nomination forms are available at www.ocna.org or by calling OCNA at 905-639-8720 ext 228.