The Newcomer Champion Awards acknowledge the work that is happening locally in St. Thomas and Elgin County to build welcoming, caring, and inclusive communities.
These recipients were nominated by members of the St. Thomas-Elgin community for their many contributions to making St. Thomas-Elgin a welcoming, caring, and inclusive community!
Excellence in Diversity & Inclusion
The Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion award recognizes a commitment to go above and beyond and support newcomers by:
- Working with the community to address the needs of newcomers by recognizing and responding to the diverse local needs
- Developing an understanding of our local cultural diversity
- Working to strengthen the community by working with others to build positive changes
- Volunteering to support diversity and newcomers and are advocating for social and civic inclusion
- Delivering services that provide the groundwork for newcomers to be socially and economically connected to their communities
Individuals
2017 Recipient–San Sok
San Sok was among the first Cambodian Refugees to arrive in St. Thomas in the 1980’s. Once he was able to get established in the community he began his work supporting other Cambodian settlers […]
2016 Recipient – Karen Palmer
Karen Palmer has been dedicated to supporting refugee resettlement efforts in the community. She worked tirelessly to support the family as they overcame challenges that arose in this major life transition. And if her […]
2015 Recipient – Joyce Jeffreys
Joyce Jeffreys has touched the lives of many newcomers. Her nomination came with two letters of support. Some of the acts that live on in the hearts of the nominators include:
Coaching during free time to […]
Group
Mennonite Community Services reached out to CCHC and identified an opportunity for CCHC to provide inter-professional health care to the Mennonite/Amish communities of Elgin County. Although this community was outside of the catchment area, […] Locally, our community was able to band together to support refugee resettlement. Grace Community Church was involved in all aspects of supporting a refugee family resettle. Their work began with fundraising events like a […] Mennonite Community Services is an agency that is always finding ways to meet the needs of their clients. Some of the notable achievements include: Responding to needs of literacy by providing alternative means to access […]
2017 Recipient–Central Community Health Centre
2016 Recipient – Grace Community Church
2015 Recipient – Mennonite Community Services
Newcomer Leader Award
This award acknowledges a newcomer who is helping to build a Welcoming, Caring, and Inclusive community by giving back to the community in some capacity. This winner is:
- Committed to making a difference by creating welcoming communities
- Giving back to the community in a positive and progressive way
- Working with the community to strengthen and build positive changes
2017 Recipient–Maria Fiallos
Maria came to St. Thomas from Nicaragua by way of London. Since moving to St. Thomas, Maria has grown her coffee roasting business Las Chicas Del Cafe with her sister and employed St. Thomas […]
2016 Recipient – Yunsu Kang
Yunsu Kang may be young, but her efforts are mighty. At the age of 15 she started a cultural diversity club at St. Joseph’s Catholic High School. This club plans school wide awareness-building initiatives […]
2015 Recipient – Lady Luisa Escover Stevens
Lady has shown a deep commitment to helping build a respectful and inclusive environment for other newcomers and to making a meaningful contribution to her community in support of diversity. Some specific activities include:
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