Thursday, May 29, 2008, Ottawa – This evening, United Way Ottawa hosted its annual Community Builder of the Year Awards Gala at the Ottawa Congress Centre. This event is a celebration of the individuals, organizations, and neighbourhood groups that strive to make Ottawa a stronger community.
In recognition of United Way/Centraide’s 75th anniversary, three individuals were named as Community Builders of the Year. Together, this group represents the past, present and future of community building in Ottawa.
Evelyne Laishley is the first recipient of the award. On May 13th, 2008, Mrs. Laishley passed away at the age of 95. She was named a Community Builder of the Year in recognition of her generous contributions to the Ottawa Health Research Institute, Queen’s University, the Canadian National Institute for the Blind and organizations dedicated to children. Her support of these groups has improved the health and happiness of countless individuals.
Lawrence Greenspon of Greenspon, Brown & Associates, the present, is a passionate volunteer who is involved with an extensive range of groups from the Snowsuit Fund, Child and Youth Friendly Ottawa to the Ontario 3C’s — Crohn’s, Colitis, Colorectal Cancer, to name a few.
Aliai Lual represents the future of our community. A 23-year-old from South Sudan, Aliai devotes much of her time to empowering youth in her own community, across North America, and in South Sudan.
“Without a doubt, Ottawa is a strong and caring community,” said Michael Allen, President and CEO of United Way / Centraide. “There are countless individuals and organizations who make extraordinary contributions to improve this community, and not enough people know their stories. This event is our way of sharing these stories with the community, thanking them for their work, and hopefully inspiring others to get involved.”
This is the eighth installment of United Way/Centraide’s Community Builder of the Year Awards. Past recipients of the Community Builder of the Year Award include:
- Brian Kilrea - 2007
- Larry and Debbie O’Brien - 2006
- Dave Smith - 2005
- Max Keeping - 2004
- Moe Attalah - 2003
- Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation (OCRI) - 2002
- Jean Pigott, Grete Hale, Gay Cook - 2001
- The 11 outgoing mayors and regional chair from Ottawa-Carleton - 2000
In addition to the Community Builder of the Year Awards, United Way/Centraide presents an Ambassador Award and awards for Volunteer of the Year, Best Community Campaign and Best Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaign. Also, awards are presented for work in each of our six impact areas – Children & Youth, Seniors, People with Disabilities, Individuals and Families in Need, New Canadians & Immigrants, and Community Capacity Building,
For a complete list and description of award winners, please click here.
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 2008, United Way Ottawa made a record community investment to support more than 200 projects, programs and partnerships, in more than 100 community organizations.