Brian Kilrea named Ottawa's Community Builder of the Year
Thursday, May 31, 2007, Ottawa – This evening, United Way Ottawa held its 7 th annual Community Builder of the Year Awards at the Ottawa Congress Centre. These awards salute organizations and individuals who have worked tirelessly and passionately to make Ottawa a better place to live, work and raise a family. In attendance were community leaders from the private and public sectors, and United Way/Centraide supporters and volunteers, including several Ottawa city councilors, M.P. Paul Dewar, and M.P.P Jim Watson.
Among the evening’s highlights was the Community Builder of the YearAward presented to Brian (Killer) Kilrea, the coach of the Ottawa 67s. The award honours Brian for his tremendous commitment and dedication to our community.
“Many people may not be aware of Coach Kilrea’s involvement in this community because of the quiet and unassuming way he goes about his community contributions,” said Michael Allen, President, United Way Ottawa. “In addition to lending his name and support to numerous charitable organizations such as CHEO, the Children’s Wish Foundation, Big Brothers Big Sisters Ottawa and The Kidney Foundation, Killer is known for taking the job of coaching beyond the hockey rink. He is deeply involved in the lives of his players and is concerned not only with how they develop as hockey players, but also how they develop as individuals and contribute to the community .”
The event also celebrated the achievements of other individuals and organizations with Community Builder Awards (CBA) linked to United Way/Centraide’s six Impact Areas:
- Enbridge Gas was awarded the CBA – Children and Youth for its work supporting children-focused charities including Christie Lake Kids (CLK). In addition to providing CLK with office space and financial contributions, Enbridge Gas organizes its staff for camp work weekends and approaches its clients and suppliers for in-kind contributions to CLK.
- CFRA-AM was awarded the CBA – People in Need and Crisis for its extensive involvement with Ottawa charities such as The Boys & Girls Club of Ottawa, The Help Santa Toy Parade, Food Aid and Habitat For Humanity. In addition, CFRA runs an annual Christmas Cheer Broadcast for the Christmas Exchange, a charity that provides food and Christmas cheer to needy families during the holidays.
- Ottawa Public Library received the CBA – People with Disabilities for its free homebound service available to Ottawa residents of any age who are unable to visit the library because of age, illness, frailness or caregiver responsibilities. This service provides every member of the community with the opportunity to access the books and other information resources the library has to offer. The Library also offers a Visunet Canada Partners Program, which provides free services to library users who are unable to read print because of blindness, visual impairment, physical disability, and/or learning disabilities related to comprehension.
- Catholic Immigration Centre was awarded the CBA – Immigrants and New Canadians. The Catholic Immigration Centre (CIC) has served immigrants and refugees in the Ottawa-Carleton region for more than 40 years by providing shelter to refugees, guiding newcomers through the difficult adjustments to their new lives, and connecting them with special Canadian friends and their faith groups. They provide settlement services, host programs, temporary shelter for sponsored refugees, pastoral programs, conversation circles, tax clinics, and they assist newcomers in finding meaningful employment.
- NDHQ Veterans Visit Program received the CBA – Seniors. This program began in 2003 when it was observed that the resident veterans of the Perley and Rideau Veterans Health Centre responded very positively to some of the military personnel that had visited the facility to attend meetings. A group of military volunteers subsequently organized themselves with an aim to have uniformed military members visit veterans every second Wednesday. The first visit was in June 2003 and the program has been operating with great success ever since.
- No Community Left Behind was awarded the CBA – Capacity Building. No Community Left Behind is a social development initiative that aims to prevent, control, and reduce violent crime, drug abuse, and gang activity among youth in designated high-crime neighbourhoods. The program has operated since 2005 in the Banff-Ledbury community and since 2006 in the Heatherington, Confederation Court and Russell Heights communities.
- Marion Dewar was namedVolunteer of the Year for lending her considerable energy to many community organizations such as Success by 6, the Ottawa Network for Children and the Ottawa Heart Institute.
“The Community Builder of the Year Awards are about celebrating the impact of leadership in our community,” noted Mark Sutcliffe, Chair, United Way/Centraide Board of Directors. “ The people and organizations we celebrate tonight are all leaders in making a difference in these areas and they truly understand that for a community to be truly great it must be great for everyone.”
In addition to the awards listed above, United Way/Centraide also handed out several awards for campaign activities:
- Merrill Reed was named United Way Ottawa’s Ambassador of the Year. As a volunteer at The Good Companions Seniors Centre, Merrill has been a member of United Way/Centraide’s Speakers’ Bureau for 15 years. In addition, Merrill gave generously of his time and shared his story of recovering from a stroke and helping others by participating in the 2006 campaign video and ad campaign.
- Canada Post received the United Way/Centraide Ottawa Best Community Campaign 2006 award. In 2006, Canada Post employees raised a record-breaking $548,122 – officially making them the number one campaign in the community last year. This represents growth of 40 per cent over the past five years, and includes 125 Leadership Giving donors (those who donate $1000 or more).
- Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) received the Best Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaign (GCWCC) 2006 award . The CNSC focused on developing a campaign that would not only illustrate the need in our community but also introduce employees to the rewards that come with a lifetime of supporting community. They ended their campaign at 116 per cent of their objective and with a participation rate of 80 per cent.
- During the evening a surprise Community Builder Award was presented to an unsuspecting audience member. The award went to St. Mark High School’s students and faculty. Every year, the staff and students at St. Mark High School run a canned food drive and in 2006 they brought in more than 57,000 cans. The school also organizes an annual service day where the students reach out to seniors in their community to help with yard work and household duties.
About United Way/Centraide Ottawa
United Way Ottawa’s mission is to bring people and resources together to build a strong, healthy, safe, community for all . By bringing people together from all parts of our community to identify, develop and provide solutions to community needs, we promise that the donations we receive go where they are needed most. In 2007, United Way Ottawa made a record community investment to support 184 projects, programs and partnerships, in 99 different community organizations.