Ailsa has always had a deep commitment to helping others. She has volunteered at Free the Children for over ten years and as a teen, has committed much of her free time to helping seniors at a local care facility. Ailsa has served as a peer mentor for the Girls Group and Girl Guides of Canada, and is a cross cultural conflict resolution mediator for YOUCAN. Ailsa was also a facilitator for the I am the Joy the World is Waiting for course, designed to increase self-esteem in preteen girls, and for the Safe Harbour Youth Ambassador Program, which helps children foster empathy and understanding for diversity.

Rodney is a role model in his school and in the greater Hamilton community. He has worked with Habitat for Humanity to raise funds to support families in Honduras, and is a member of the Hamilton Community Foundation’s Youth Advisory Council, implementing community initiatives and projects to aid Hamilton’s in-need neighborhoods. Rodney also sits on the Hamilton Police Service’s Youth Advisory Committee, helping decrease tensions between the law enforcement and Hamiltonian youth. He is the OnPAR (Ontario Partners against Racism) youth committee co-chair, where he acts as liaison to organizations such as the Youth Anti-Racism Network and Hamilton Center for Civic Inclusion.

Norman is described by his principal as “a motivational force within our school and community.” As the co-founder of the Anderson CVI Environmental Club, a member of the Culture of Peace Committee, the White Ribbon Campaign, the Justice Equality Movement, Amnesty International, Black History Month presentations, Kids Day Camp and Harmony Movement’s Diversity Leadership Certificate Program, Norman is certainly making his mark in the world. His activism also reaches into the community, where he has served as a volunteer at Vincent’s Kitchen, the Salvation Army, R.A.G.E. (Reaching a Generation Everywhere) Ministries and with Project Porch light, which distributes low impact light bulbs to the community.

In Grade 9, Leanna joined the Stephen Lewis Foundation at her school, raising awareness about HIV/AIDS. Two years later she became the group’s president and helped to bring the Art for AIDS project to her school, raising over $20,000 for AIDS awareness. Through this project, Leanna traveled to South Africa as an ambassador and ran art workshops for children. Locally, Leanna has written articles for the Toronto Star about child labour and water scarcity in Darfur, and organized a Cultural Exchange Program at her school in order to promote racial and cultural equality, and bridge the gap between ESL and non-ESL students.

Krupa was appointed to the Manitoba Association of Rights and Liberties as the youngest board member in history. Her tireless efforts to achieve equality have inspired her to write a monologue about the prejudice faced by a teenage Indian immigrant to Canada, organize a school wide anti-racism and cultural awareness assembly, and spearhead a used glasses drive to provide eye care to those in need. Krupa is the Youth Director of the Gujarati Cultural Society of Manitoba, the 2005 winner of the Racism. Stop it! National video-making competition, and was asked to be a speaker to over 5000 people at the Canadian International Day in Ottawa.

As founder and president of her school’s first Humanities Club, Katelyn has been at the forefront of many initiatives to address racism and discrimination in her school, including DIVERSIFY ME!, a cultural sensitivity training programming highlighting the importance of differences in society. Katelyn took her passion for diversity and acceptance into the community, volunteering with organizations such as the Leukemia Research Foundation and New Canadians Centre, teaching adult ESL classes. She has also been a panelist at the University of Windsor’s Social Justice Forum, speaking about her recent trip to Ghana, Africa, where she taught local youth and helped renovate a medical clinic.

As a founding member of Campion Cares, Annika spearheaded numerous campaigns such as the White Ribbon Campaign, Spare Change for Mozambique Children Drive and Girls Night, an event for grade 9 girls dealing with gender inequality. Annika was also a member of the PEACE TEAM, a peer mediation group to resolve youth conflict in the school. In addition to her work at St. Edmund Campion, Annika is currently taking part in a campaign to help build a new school in Attawapiskat, a First Nations community in Northern Ontario, which has been without a proper school for 29 years.

Maala puts her passion into action. She has served as the Seven Oaks School Division Representative for the UN (Winnipeg Branch), and is a Free the Children Global Voices Junior Journalist. She has organized letter-writing campaigns and petitions for women’s rights, safe schools, and anti-child labour initiatives in developing nations. She has also run fundraisers for Adopt-A-Minefield, The Laurel Centre, UNICEF and Canadian Red Cross. Maala initiated and helped create a World Religions course in her school to reflect the diversity of the student population, and is also the recipient of the United Way of Winnipeg Student Community Service/Leadership Award.

Through his work as a motivational speaker, Connor has delivered presentations on human rights and equity to thousands of students, teachers, and school board members throughout the GTA. As a self-identified spastic quadriplegic with cerebral palsy, and as a gay male, Connor has fought tirelessly for equal rights. Through his many initiatives, including founding the first Gay Straight Alliance at his school, integrating “queer-positive” literature into the library and helping to re-write the Bradford District High School student handbook to include discrimination based on sexuality as harassment, Connor’s work has not only made a significant impact on his own life, but also on those around him.