On November 21, YMCA Calgary honoured local peacemakers at the 16th annual Peace Medals Luncheon. If you have ever wanted to make a difference but felt overwhelmed, thought it was impossible or didn't know where to start, let yourself be inspired by our Peace Medal recipients and nominees.

Every year, YMCA Calgary recognizes eight deserving people or groups who have played a role in advancing peace around the world or right here at home. Our nominees and recipients have used their talents, experiences and abilities to enhance the lives of others and proven that everybody can be a peacemaker in one way or another.

This year's recipients have promoted peace through helping the homeless, advocating for the exploited and vulnerable, providing hope for people in Africa and improving the climate at school.

Creating peace is not an easy task, but it has to start somewhere. Why not with you?

Community Individual - Lucille Dupuis

If you're lucky, you had a teacher who made a difference in your life. For many students at Varsity Acres School, Lucille Dupuis has been that teacher.

Each year she creates a theme with her students related to character development and humanitarianism. Over the years, her classes have worked with ideas like "Pay it Forward" and "I'm just a kid. How can I make a difference?"

Lucille has also worked with students to help organizations like the Mustard Seed, donate to a school in Cuba and even raise enough to buy dentures for a high school camp counselor.

As the curriculum leader for Dare to Care, an anti-bullying program, Lucille has worked with her colleagues and students to apply the program's strategies.

Her efforts helped make the school safer and taught students skills they will use long after they leave Varsity Acres.

She has helped her students to believe they can make a difference in the world, and in doing so, has made a difference herself.

Lucille says, "I wouldn't be the person I am if it wasn't for the kids in my life."

Community Group - Father Scollen School

These days, students at Father Scollen elementary and junior high genuinely care for and respect one another - but it hasn't always been this way.

Three years ago students were underachieving, impolite, and felt unsafe. Concerned, staff decided to do something.

Their goal: a school that would build students who were self-reliant problem solvers by the time they graduated Grade 9.

Staff started emphasizing good manners and consideration of others, and strengthening relationships with parents and community agencies. The school community was invited to join the "Dare to Lead" initiative, which encourages leadership, peer mediation and volunteering among students.

"The staff reached out to students with extraordinary caring in the small things," says Father Scollen principal, Greg Verhappen. "They then dared them to show the same caring leadership they were receiving.

The efforts are working. There's been a considerable drop in suspensions, fights, and bullying. Students now take on more responsibilities like organizing a hot-lunch program and volunteering in the school.

Father Scollen School is a great example of how determination and effort can make a big difference.

Community Youth - Soul SERVivors

Soul SERVivors is a group of 30 Canmore youth devoted to lending a helping hand to those in need.

Co-sponsored by St. Michael's Anglican Church and Ralph Connor United Church, the group got started in 1998, selling handmade items to raise money for the Samaritan's Purse Shoeboxes campaign. Each year since, the group has raised money to provide gifts for children on the Morley reserve.

Soul SERVivors has expanded its work to support other causes and has raised more than $15,000 for the Bow Valley Christmas Spirit Campaign, the Bow Valley SPCA, Alberta Cancer Society and AIDS research.

Concerned about substance abuse among their peers, the group recently approached agencies such as Family and Community Support Services and made a presentation to Canmore Town Council about the need for a youth centre.  

"We see things going on that we don't like and we want to change so we are just taking action," says Soul SERVivors member, Emily Emberton.

Soul SERVivors have truly shown how youth can make a positive difference while exhibiting a deeper level of empathy, team work, and leadership.

International Individual - Simon Atem

Simon was seven during the Sudanese genocide in the late 1980s. After his mother and sister fled their village and he saw his uncle killed, Simon made his own escape, walking more than 1,000 kilometres to Ethiopia.

For 12 years Simon lived in UN refugee camps before getting permission to come to Canada. Now a Grade 12 student at Father Lacombe High School, he's working to help those still in Africa.

Simon's Project is an initiative raising money to build a school in his home community of Aweng, Sudan. Events like lunch hour Coffee Houses featuring student performers raise funds and promote awareness of global and social issues.

When asked why he has chosen to get involved, Simon says, "Our leaders say, 'you young people, you are the leaders for tomorrow,' but to me, no, we are the leaders of today."

The project has attracted the interest of the Canadian International Development Agency, UNICEF, Teachers without Borders, various politicians, businessman and influential leaders.

After he graduates this spring, Simon plans to travel to Sudan to build the school in hopes of giving children there the same opportunities he has had in Canada.

International Group - Keeping the Circle Strong

When a parent had an idea to connect students from Fred Seymour Elementary School and orphans in Litein, Kenya, the whole school jumped on board.

The Grades 1 and 2 classes produced and marketed a CD with a compilation of songs performed by them and the Kenyan children. Grade 4 and 5 students developed a multi-media presentation and used it to raise funds from corporate Calgary. In total, the group raised more than $50,000.

In the summer of 2006, a group of students, their families and staff from Fred Seymour travelled to Kenya to make improvements to the orphanage and meet the children.

"It may bring worldwide peace some day," says Kathy Laycock, former assistant principal of Fred Seymour. "If all the children in Calgary connect with children in other places on earth, it will make a difference in the world."

Although Fred Seymour closed in 2006, students and teachers from Keeping the Circle Strong still maintain their friendships with the kids in Kenya. Their efforts have given hope for a brighter future to people in Kenya and brought awareness to Calgarians. 

International Youth - Naheed Jivraj

Though just 17 years old, Naheed has already introduced the wonders of technology to people in our city and around the world.

Naheed is involved with the initiatives Bringing Technology to the Goharabad in Pakistan and Developing Technical Skills in Mombassa, Kenya.

Over the past two summers, he has worked in both countries, teaching computers to local people so that they can access information and communicate with others around the world to build relationships and share their experiences.

Last year, Naheed and other youth he recruited also began helping seniors at the Beverly Centre use email and computers to communicate with their families.

Naheed's work is rooted in a belief in empowering local and international communities through education and communication.

Naheed says of his efforts, "When we work together or when we put our best foot forward, and do it expecting nothing in return, then I think we can always get closer to peace and closer to harmony."

YMCA Calgary Staff - Genevieve Marcoux

Genevieve has a very personal reason for her involvement with the homeless -she lived on the streets on and off for years, beginning at age eight.

"It's a constant fight to find food, to find a place to sleep, and to keep some dignity and confidence," she says of her own experience.

Genevieve has turned her life around, and is now dedicated to helping others. She has volunteered at the Mustard Seed and held a paid position at the Calgary Drop-in Centre helping people re-establish their connection with society and teaching basic life skills.

In 2006, Genevieve began working at the Eau Claire YMCA. Still passionate about helping the homeless community, she started collecting donations of food and clothing at the YMCA and delivering them to those in need.

Genevieve has pulled many all-nighters passing out blankets, serving coffee and comforting people on the streets.

She now shares her story with Mount Royal College's students to help them understand homelessness and addictions. She is currently translating a website and book into French, and plans to donate all of her earnings back to the community.

Humanitarian - Marsha Meidow

A survivor of abuse, exploitation and addiction, Marsha now draws from her experiences and devotes herself to advocating for abused and exploited women.

"I told myself that if I ever survived I would dedicate the rest of my life to help end violence against women and girls," she says.

Marsha has organized the Montreal Massacre Memorial and Take Back the Night in Ontario. She worked with women fleeing abusive relationships and is now a counselor for the YWCA Safe Haven Program, helping young women who are involved in prostitution or who are at risk of sexual exploitation.

Each year Marsha acts in, directs and produces Calgary's production of the Vagina Monologues, which has raised more than $50,000 for women's charities. She is also the founder of the Femme Fatale Carnivale, a cabaret show that raises funds to support the Vagina Monologues.

Her writing about surviving abuse and has been published in magazines and books, offering encouragement for others.

Marsha's tireless efforts to give the most fragile, vulnerable women confidence, strength and hope have helped heal many others as she heals herself.  

Nominees

YMCA Calgary, along with its partners, congratulates and recognizes all nominees who inspire and affect the lives of others through their peaceful endeavours.

Bill Belsey - Humanitarian
...For his ongoing work to put and end to bullying through initiatives like the Bullying.org and Cyberbullying.ca websites.

Bowness Boys and Girls Club - Community Youth
...For taking on the responsibility of cleaning up Bowmont Natural Park.

Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) Calgary Office - Community Group
...For offering support and services to help people with vision loss lead successful lives.

Mavis Clark - Humanitarian
...For supporting students at Sunnyside Elementary School and at group homes for teens and young adults.

Jan Damery - International Individual
...For empowering people at home and in Africa and helping them become global citizens through education.

Dare to Care - Community Group
...For providing education about issues such as bullying, isolation and violence.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services - Community Group
...For their on-going efforts to assist the hearing impaired gain independence and communicate more effectively.

Almoonir Dewji - Humanitarian
...For raising awareness and helping victims of abuse, poverty, mental illness, and violence.

Earl Emberton - Staff
...For the leadership he offers at his church in Canmore and with disabled people in Ireland.

Candice Fargey - Community Individual
...For the number of volunteer projects she takes on in the town of Strathmore.

Larry Fisk - Humanitarian
...For dedicating his life to being a teacher, researcher, author, community builder, mentor.

For The Love Of Children Society of Alberta Canada - International Group
...For making a difference in the lives of children overseas by supplying medical aid, food, clothing and toys.

Ivy Fraser - International Youth
...For playing an instrumental role in the Ernest Manning Volunteer Club, making a difference in the school and Africa.

Ryan Gill - International Individual
...For improving the lives of people in Mazatlan, Mexico through Project Smile, a mission providing food, clothing and shelter that he organizes and funds.

Heather Godfrey - Staff
...For working with Youth Challenge International in Costa Rica to help build infrastructure in communities.

Michael Gretton - Humanitarian
...For being an advocate for education, multiculturalism and peace-building initiatives.

Megan Halverson - Staff
...For her hard work building homes for families in Mexico and working with orphans in Tutova, Romania.

Haysboro Traffic Safety Group - Community Youth
...For promoting traffic safety and helping to eliminate speeding in playground and school zones.

Humanitarian Outreach Projects Club - International Youth
...For raising awareness and taking action to help bring peace to people around the world.

Independent Living Resource Centre of Calgary - Community Group
...For giving disabled people the tools and skills they need to become independent.

Sara Jungen - International Individual
...For her substantial involvement with a Tibetan Buddhist movement.

Karim-Aly Kassam - International Individual
...For his contributions to several global and national development projects and his efforts with projects that build sustainable communities.

Shawn Keim - Community Individual
...For his compassion towards the patients at the Peter Lougheed Hospital and his time spent volunteering with the seniors at the Bowness Lions Club.

Krista Kokott - Community Individual
....For providing free hair cuts to clients at the Mustard Seed.

Mary Kuek - Community Individual
...For providing education and resources to women in Africa who help bring peace among Sudanese tribes.

Bonnie Langridge - Humanitarian
...For her outstanding dedication to assisting people with physical and mental disabilities and her involvement with the Centre Street Church.

Suzanne Leacock - Humanitarian
...For her work supporting women and girls at AADAC and her volunteer efforts within the community.

Liza Lorenzetti - International Individual
...For being a devoted advocate for human rights and minorities in Calgary and abroad.

Katharine McLean - Humanitarian
...For the extra time she invests in her students and the Wilma Hansen Junior School student council.

OpportunityWorks - Community Group
...For helping clients deal with mental health issues through a holistic approach.

Prabhgat Sekhon - Community Youth
...For her efforts to raise money for homeless children in Calcutta, India.

Somerset School Peace Heroes - Community Youth
...For providing peer mediation and conflict resolution strategies to other students.

St. Boniface School's Peace Squad - Community Youth
...For their role as peer-mediators who effectively solve conflicts and provide peaceful solutions.

St. Martha School Peace Patrol Program - Community Youth
...For their commitment to conflict resolution and making the school a more welcoming place.

Hanna Stroud - Community Individual
...For her instrumental role in creating Project R and R at Bowcroft Elementary School.

Marilyn Tobin - Community Individual
...For encouraging peace among the students, staff and parents of McKenzie Lake School, where she is the assistant principal.

Trident Exploration Corp. - Youth (TEC-Y) - International Youth
...For their work to improve quality of life of developing countries.

Vital - International Group
...For all of their time and energy spent to provide funds and support for youth in Sierra Leone.

Annie Walker - Community Individual
...For her ongoing work with the Mountain Haven Program that assists women and families that have been victims of violence.

Janis Weasel Bear-Johnson - Community Individual
...For her incredible leadership within the aboriginal community.

Kali Zissos - International Individual
...For her volunteer work in Ghana to support human rights with the Projects Abroad program.

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