Join us for our 2023 Annual General Meeting

Youth Ottawa’s Annual General Meeting will held on January 24th, 2024 from 6-8 PM at 90 Spark Street on the 2nd floor.

Want to hear about what we accomplished in 2022 and where were headed this year? Share some thoughts or feedback? Join us! Public and open to all.

If you would like to attend or be added to the speakers list please email info@youthottawa.ca to RSVP. Please RSVP before January 21st at 5PM.

November 15, 2022February 1, 2023

Home is Where Love Grows

Two students work on their laptop together at a desk

Let's Spread the Love this Giving Tuesday

Once upon a time...

We challenged grade 10 students from St. Francis Xavier High School to use their voice to address a social issue in one of our Active Citizenship Initiative programs last year.

The class created a list of issues they wanted to address, and four of the students–Ella, Noah, Raya and Federica–chose domestic abuse as their issue.

“We would ask our teacher if it was in the curriculum at all, or if teachers were taught how to deal with it when they learned to become a teacher and we just found it was something that just wasn’t talked about enough and that we could make a change there.”

At first, the group said they struggled with finding the right medium for their message. After floating around a few ideas, they finally landed on their children’s book idea, which Frederica’s little sister would illustrate.

The book, Home is Where Love Grows, follows the story of two friends, Max and Quincy. The friends live in a world where everyone has flowers growing out of the top of their heads, and all is well until Quincy notices Max’s plant wilting more and more each morning. It becomes Quincy’s mission to help make Max feel better. The plot explores the hidden signs of abuse and teaches youth how to help their friends if they notice these signs.

“I think just because something is difficult, or it’s complicated, it shouldn’t be something that doesn’t get told,” their teacher, Heather Bilder said. “We need to find age-appropriate ways that students can engage with it. This group of students were really thoughtful in the imagery they pulled from their knowledge of metaphor to really go beyond just that surface level… and they looked for meaningful ways that their readers could support a friend.”

In the span of two months, their school project blossomed into a social justice initiative, now being published with the help of Youth Ottawa.

In our ACI programs, classes go through a three-step process:

1. Our facilitators introduce youth to civic issues, allowing them to choose their focus

2. Students create an “Action Plan” to guide their next steps in tackling the issue, using civic “tactics” such as lobbying, surveying, and petitioning

3. Students execute their action plans, learning while making a positive difference in their communities

In 2021, we introduced ACI students to several call-to-action videos from city councillors, allowing them to choose issues that aren’t addressed enough. Bilder’s class took these challenges on and narrowed their focus to six topics, including domestic abuse. The program was combined with a careers class, allowing them to focus on resume-making to “apply” for positions in their groups. Upon choosing their teams, they began to work on steps two and three.

Chapter 2: From School Project to Real Project

In May, the group of students showcased their work at our Youth Action Showcase, which kicked off Ottawa’s first official Youth Week. The Youth Action Showcase was launched by Youth Ottawa in an effort to bring student projects in front of key decision-makers and thought leaders.

“You work on a project for a month and you don’t really get much feedback, but we went to City Hall and the amount of positive feedback and the amount of people that went home and said ‘I really love your story,’ just really motivated our group and made us want to keep on doing this,” Noah said.

Since then, we have met with them bi-weekly from June through August in the hopes of bringing their book into Ottawa libraries in schools, while chatting with them about their goals for the project.

Heather Bilder said she was impressed with their lack of hesitancy in communicating such an important topic, even working on the book throughout the summer.

“I think a lot of people can be critical of younger generations, and I think watching them take on this complicated topic and problem solve and work in collaboration is like, we’re in good hands,” she said.

Over the summer, they worked on creating an acknowledgement page, and it goes as follows*:

*Please note that this is a preview, and the full page can be found in their book.

Take a look at their pitch presentation here!

Chapter 3 - What’s Next?

The team is also seeking support from programs like Market13 that can help them create a free eCommerce website to sell their book online.

“Our goal is to get it in as many kids’ hands as possible, just so that they can really read it and understand what the message is,” Federica said.

Along the way, we are working with the students to refine their presentation pitch and teaching the group of youth about accessing the right grants and looking for other funding opportunities, all with the goal of both their personal and professional growth.

The End…or is it?

This is normally where you’d read “The End” in a story, but these students are nowhere near finished! Their story is just beginning, and they will need your help to turn the next page. Our Giving Tuesday campaign started on Nov. 29 and is now closed. We were able to raise over $4,500 to deliver books to several Ottawa schools and continue funding our ACI program!

As a thank you for each donation, we are sending packs of seeds to donors. These seeds are a symbol of support highlighted throughout the book, and we can’t wait to see what they grow.

November 7, 2022November 7, 2022

Building Communities for Student Success

People listening to a student project presentation

Why Community Engagement Matters for Student Success

Community engagement is the foundation of all that we do at Youth Ottawa. Students who are engaged in their communities are confident in using their voices for change, are active in team cooperation, and have improved communication skills. There are several reasons why small-scale community engagement matters for student success, especially in an era when social media is facilitating global engagement.

In our years running the Active Citizenship Initiative (ACI) program, we have learned about:

LGBTQ+ history
Ottawa’s housing emergency
The importance of recreational opportunities
The Black Lives Matter movement
Tackling climate change through community gardens
And much, much more!

Community engagement builds trust & community

Bilateral communication between youth and their communities foster a sense of trust and belonging in their home communities. In an era where much of our interactions are done online, feeling connected to the real world is getting harder and harder, especially for youth. In order to build our communities, we must spend time in them and trust them to hear our voices. By building these communities up with trust and personal connections, we will eventually find ourselves in safer, happier, and healthier environments.

According to a study conducted by the Pew Research Institute, 35 per cent of teenagers are “almost constantly” spending their time on social media. A third of them said they spent too much time on social media, while only eight per cent of them said they spent too little time on social media.

Though phone use may be addictive, it is no question that youth want to be more engaged in their communities, whether online or in person, though many are facing fatigue in the online realm after two years of a pandemic.

Community engagement increases visibility of youth issues

Who better to understand youth issues than youth themselves? As much as adults like to think they understand youth because they used to be youth themselves, times change and world issues change. Youth are the only ones who know what they truly value and what they are concerned about. By listening to their voices, we will be better equipped to help them solve these issues and support them in taking leadership in their communities to build a better future.

Heather Bilder worked with us last year at St. Francis Xavier to implement the Active Citizenship Initiative in her class. One group of her students created a children’s book dealing with domestic abuse.

“I think it’s just really awesome to see how empowered they are when they’re engaged in their learning,” Heather Bilder said about her students.

In 2020, the General Social Survey (GSS) on Social Identity found that youth were among the least civically engaged in Canadian communities, with only 60 per cent of youth aged 15-30 reportedly interested in politics. Meanwhile, 68 per cent of people aged 31 to 46 and 74 per cent of those aged 47 and older reported interest in politics. However, youth were found to be more engaged in recreational activities or hobbies than those in the older categories, suggesting that youth are interested in the things that affect them most, but may not have the education or encouragement to follow up with civic engagement.

Community engagement promotes fairness, equity and diversity

An engaged community results in a diverse range of voices, ensuring fairness and equity for all sub-groups. In creating an ideal society, youth know what solutions they would like to see. An environment that excludes certain groups of people is not an environment that is safe or positive, and is not an environment that people want to live in.

Not only is equity about human rights, a fair and diverse environment is one that is also healthy for our identities. Learning from a range of cultures and peoples ensures that we become well-rounded, attentive citizens who can make the world a better place for everyone, from our homes to our workplaces.

Throughout our years running ACI, we’ve come up with several projects addressing this same issue. In 2018, we supported the Mural Project by students from the Glebe Collegiate Institute which featured community artists painting a mural to draw attention to LGBTQ+ history for equity and inclusion.

In another class, students wrote letters to school boards about a range of topics including the need for more LGBTQ+ topics in their curriculum.

“LGBTQ+ students have been overlooked by the education system continuously for several decades, leading to hazardous learning environments for any student under the lesbian/gay/bi/trans/queer umbrella. There have been a multitude of faults perpetuating this issue, but it’s time for the Ontario government to take action and provide safe and healthy learning conditions for students of all gender identities and sexual orientations alike.” – A Concerned Student

Our Rainbow Bridges program also used to partner with students to create welcoming spaces in schools, and in 2021, we hosted a film festival to highlight a variety of topics the LGBTQ+ community faces.

Education's role in student engagement & how you can help!

At Youth Ottawa, we help teachers engage students in focused reflection and hands-on experiences that increase knowledge, develop skills, and expand students’ capacity to contribute to their communities.

Our Active Citizenship Initiative Program (ACI), for example, aims to engage students and transform the world around them. We introduce students to several issues through our educational programming, encouraging them to take action and guiding them along the way. In the past, students have worked on affordable housing, sustainable gardening, and much more.

On November 29th, we will be participating in Giving Tuesday. We have an ambitious goal to support more student projects like the ones highlighted above. From now until December 31st you can do your part in amplifying youth voices, by donating here to our Active Citizenship Intiative.

September 29, 2022September 29, 2022

Join Us on Our 25th Spirit Anniversary

Join Us on Our 25th Spirit Anniversary!

Wait no longer! It’s our 25th Anniversary of celebrating our city’s youth and all of the amazing things they have done! To commemorate such a big milestone, we are planning a bigger and better award show than ever before and can’t wait to see you there!

Our 25th Annual RBC Spirit of the Capital Awards will feature 14 incredible youth, all awarded for their hard work and resiliency throughout seven categories.

Traditionally, we welcome over 300 guests to celebrate youth in our community, but the past few years have been tumultuous for us all. In 2020, we celebrated the Spirit awards online due to COVID-19 restrictions. In 2021, only Spirit recipients, their plus-ones and sponsors were invited to the gala.

This year, we’re opening the guest list for the first time since 2019 and are thrilled to be hosting an award ceremony to remember. Guests of all ages are welcome to join us, & the event is completely free! Even if you don’t know the award winners, come stop by and cheer them on!

Reserve your free tickets and join us on Wednesday, October 26th at the Shenkman Arts Centre, from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m!

What to expect when you arrive

When you arrive in your “Wednesday best” (all dressed up), head to the lounge for a cocktail hour between 4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

As you make your way across the red carpet, you will find light refreshments and youth-friendly finger foods, a mocktail bar, and a photo area!

To enter the main event area, make your way to the Harold Shenkman Hall, where we will hear the inspiring work and stories of 14 young changemakers from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.

We will also have musical performances during intermissions by MoovOttawa, a BIPOC, Women & Immigrant lead Street Dance Company. They specialize in Hip Hop, House, Waacking, Breaking “Break Dance” and more.

The categories

Learn more about the recipients here!

Learn more about our 25th Anniversary here!

September 13, 2022September 13, 2022

Summer Recap Report 2022

Building Hope for our Tomorrow

Education doesn’t end in July! Youth Ottawa has consistently been helping youth amplify their businesses for years now, but this summer we decided to take it up a notch.

Take a look at our report below!

What's next?

As the summer starts to cool down, our staff are getting ready to ramp up the learning opportunities and they’ll need your help to do it! If you’re interested in working with us, contact info@youthottawa.ca or consider donating!

August 29, 2022May 29, 2023

Preparing for Another Amazing School Year

Preparing for another amazing school year

Fall is just around the corner!

Have you missed us? Youth Ottawa is preparing for another school year, filled with all of our engaging programs. We have a full roster of Youth Active Media, Active Citizenship Initiative, Artistic Mentorship Program, and a brand new program!

Involvement with Youth Ottawa is always open, but fall is one of the best times to get involved! Take a look at some of the programs we’re offering this year and choose the one (or few) most suited for you!

Programs we offer:

1. Youth Active Media (YAM)

Youth Active Media aims to engage students in digital literacy through learning about camera angles, lighting, editing, and much more. Facilitators go through interactive lessons to give these students the tools they need for success in video production or editing. Our students have gone on to become videographers, photographers, or just come away from the program with a new-found appreciation for media production!

To take your student’s digital literacy skills to the next level, learn more or sign up here.

2. Active Citizenship Initiative (ACI)

The Active Citizenship Initiative is a program that encourages students to use their voice for positive change, both within their lives and within their communities. As we like to remind people, youth need to have a voice in the matters that impact them the most. With ACI, young people are able to bring their ideas forward to city councillors to make the city a better place, addressing the issues that mean the most to them. Last year, we returned our Youth Action Showcase event during the first ever National Youth Week in Ottawa, and we hope to make next year’s event even bigger with your help!

If you’re interested in introducing ACI in your classes, please fill out this form.

3. Artistic Mentorship Program (AMP)

The Artistic Mentorship Program returned this year and has gone above and beyond to bring young artists closer to success! Not only have we been working with artists of all mediums to help develop their entrepreneurial skills, but we have also hosted several live concerts where they got paid for their awesome performances! In order to continue amplifying these incredibly talented youth and expand our reach, we will need your support!

Please consider donating here or signing up here!

New program alert: Computer Programmers Unite (CPU)!

As a current student at Carleton University for Computer Science, Byron McDonald said he had always been interested in computer programming but never got the chance to study it in high school due to a lack of teachers. After noticing the lack of programming courses throughout several other high schools, Byron decided to take the initiative and begin one himself for others in the same situation.

Being a long-time volunteer at Youth Ottawa, he knew exactly where to go to get this done. With the help of Carleton University and Youth Ottawa, he built an entire program from the ground up.

Building a course from scratch of course brought many challenges and successes along the way. Although teaching online workshops this summer helped him become a better teacher, he said he still struggles with predicting the needs of future students he hasn’t met yet, such as the in-person cohort he hopes to teach this fall.

“It’s really just trying to convert something that is extremely unapproachable to something that I could get anyone to do, and that’s definitely been difficult,” he said. “It’s fun getting stuff like that done…the process of creation is fun.”

Now, we are just a couple of weeks away from introducing this new program to our fall roster. The lessons will aim to follow a similar structure to our Youth Active Media program, with students being taught and guided in their self-directed projects.

At the moment, Byron is our only program facilitator for this program, but who knows where the next year will take us? The need for digital literacy is growing, as is the need for programmers and for programming teachers! Maybe you, your students, or someone you know could be the person who needs a class like this most.

“I really hope that I can get people interested in what I’m doing. In terms of personal experience, if I had had the program I’m planning on running in high school, I would’ve been so much better prepared–I would’ve had a much more realistic understanding of what I was getting into, going into computer science” – Byron McDonald

He added that he hopes to make a similar impact on students that participating in YAM a couple years ago did to him and his friend Matthias. Although Byron found YAM to be a fun environment and a great place to make friends, the program inspired Matthias to pursue media studies as post-secondary education.

“If I could deliver one life-changing experience or five nice times, that’s great to me,” he said.

Want to help Byron out? Visit this link to sign your class up for computer programming classes!

Don't forget!

We will of course be running our usual programs this fall, including the Youth Active Media program, the Active Citizenship Initiative, and the Artistic Mentorship Program. Over the past 25 years, we’ve impacted over 300 students in each of these programs each year and hope to grow our reach even further to amplify our youth’s fullest potential.

If you’re interested in any of these programs, fill out the form below!

Want to help us fulfill our mission but don’t know where to start? Donating is a great, simple way to make a huge impact in the lives of young people!

August 14, 2022June 3, 2025

🎓 Fundraise with Fun: Trivia 4 Tomorrow for Your School

A New Way for Teachers, Staff & Parents to Support Students — While Competing for Bragging Rights Across Ottawa!

Looking for a fresh, exciting, and low-lift way to fundraise for your school’s extracurricular needs?

Whether you’re trying to support field trips, art supplies, student business ventures, or club activities — Trivia 4 Tomorrow is your school’s new monthly tradition.

Hosted by Youth Ottawa, this city-wide trivia experience combines community engagement, laughter, and light competition — all while raising funds to support the creative, athletic, and civic dreams of your students.

🍎 Why Teachers & School Staff Love Trivia 4 Tomorrow

🧠 It’s engaging and lighthearted — the perfect midday brain break
🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Bring your department together over lunch and build team chemistry
🏫 Fundraise for your own school’s priorities — like assemblies, art exhibits, clubs, business programs, or enrichment trips
🧒 Students can support by helping select trivia themes or even playing on the team!
🏆 Compete with other schools across Ottawa and other boards for fun, prizes, and community investment ballots

How It Works

Monthly Team Trivia runs on the last Friday of each month, from 12:00 PM – 12:45 PM
It’s 100% virtual, so staff can join from their classrooms, homes, or staff rooms
Compete as a team, rack up points, and win cash prizes or Community Investment ballots for your school
Every entry earns your school a ballot toward monthly investment draws—schools can win hundreds to reinvest in their own programs!

💸 Two Ways to Join

✅ 1. Subscribe Monthly – $50/Month (Best Value)

Get 4 trivia experiences per month:

🎯 3 individual games (Wednesdays at 7 PM)
🏫 1 monthly school team game
🧢 Includes a Youth Ottawa T-shirt
🎟️ Accumulate points towards the Community Cup Championship (Dec 2025)
💰 Maximize your annual tax receipt
🛍️ Exclusive perks & discounts to other events
A fun, recurring experience for any educator or parent who loves trivia, wants to support youth, and stay engaged with other school communities!

Play Monthly as a School – $25/Player

Want to just enter a school team once a month? That works too!

🧑‍🏫 Organize a few staff over lunch
🧒 Let students join or cheer you on!
🧾 Great for schools running one-time fundraisers or trying it out

🌟 What You’re Supporting

Your participation directly supports:

Seed funding for student-run businesses
Supplies for arts, tech, and maker spaces
Field trips, assemblies, and student-led events
Youth Ottawa’s in-school enrichment programs like Youth Active Media, Social Enterprise, and more

✨ Let’s Play, Compete, and Empower Together

Trivia 4 Tomorrow is a new kind of fundraiser — one that doesn’t ask you to sell chocolate bars or raffle tickets.
It brings staff, students, and parents together around shared goals and good laughs.

So gather your staff, warm up those brains, and get ready to support your school one trivia round at a time.

July 27, 2022August 2, 2022

Why do we Golf?

More than a Sport

Every year, Youth Ottawa hosts our Mayor’s Golf Classic. It is a charity event that brings the community together with local city councillors, changemakers, and youth to spend a day outside raising money for our cause.

Those who attend aren’t just coming to golf, but are there to raise money for youth in the community through Youth Ottawa’s services and programming.

A Brief History of the Event

The Annual Mayor’s Golf Classic started in 2000 when Larry O’Brien was the mayor of Ottawa. The event allowed our sponsors and business partners to show support and raise funds for youth programming, which continues to be a big part of the event today.

What now?

This year’s Charity Golf Classic will take place on August 9 at the Marshes Golf Course in Kanata.

It is also Jim Watson’s final year as Mayor, and we are so thankful for all of his years of support. His fervent support of both Youth Ottawa has helped us amplify young voices in the community. This year’s event will allow everyone to spend a lovely evening with the Mayor while raising money for a good cause.

For such a special year, we have some special items lined up for our silent auction, such as:

Staycation Relaxation Packages
Tom Brady Jersey
BrookStreet Golf Package
Patrick Mahomes Helmet
Jerry Rice Football
Wayne Gretzky Jersey
Auston Matthews Jersey
Barry Bonds Jersey
Kobe Bryant Jersey
Mike Tyson Gloves

& more….

Entertainment on the Green!

Sponsored by Caivan Communities, celebrity entertainer Todd Keirstead will be joining foursomes on the golf course. Todd has proven year after year of being one of the world’s greatest celebrity golf entertainers. Along with being voted Trick Shot of the Year on Golf Channel, Todd has been featured on ESPN, Sports Illustrated, TSN, NBC Sports and TMZ.

Michael Kors has launched a new line of golf attire that will be on view at the tournament. Golfers can purchase pieces from the line, with 20% of all proceeds going to Youth Ottawa.

There will be four hole-in-one contests on the green during the tournament, located at holes 3, 5, 12 and 17. We thank Kanata Renovations for sponsoring holes 3 & 12 and RBC for sponsoring holes 5 & 17. The hole-in-one prizes stem between $5,000 and $10,000.

Evening Entertainment

We will also have plenty of entertainment throughout the evening, including an art battle and performance from singer/songwriter John Swayty.

The art battle will take place during the cocktail hour, when seven young artists will paint a piece based on the theme of youth voice in a 25 minute round. Once they’re done with their pieces, the audience will get the chance to vote for their favourite artists by placing a raffle ticket in a small box beside the painting that appeals to them the most. The artists will also be able to auction off their pieces at the end of the night for additional fundraising.

John Swayty is a Lebanese Canadian Artist based in Ottawa. He is also a 3rd year student at the University of Ottawa in Business and IT. He has performed at various Youth Ottawa events and other shows around the city. He is also currently the Music Director for CASCO which is a Telfer uOttawa Charity Organization that supports the Children’s Hospital of Ontario.

For John, music is his passion but it is also one of his favourite ways to inspire others to spark their creativity. John wants to encourage others to continue working on their passion and hobbies and be unique in the industry of their interest. When music evolves, it brings harmony and love to the people around it and is one of the best ways to unite everyone.

These two forms of entertainment are all thanks to our Artistic Mentorship Program (AMP), which we relaunched earlier this year. As a program, AMP aims to re-engage youth with the arts by providing them with mentorship and resources to get them on the right track to success.

As we had put this program on pause for the pandemic, we are so excited to be bringing it back and hope you are too! We are looking for additional funding and support to help us continue supporting young artists, which is why events like the Golf tournament really help us!

Two more incredible youth will also be joining us at dinner to speak about their experiences as our most recent Mayors for a Day. The Mayor for the Day contest is another event we brought back since pausing it for the pandemic, all thanks to us bringing back the Ottawa Youth Engagement Committee (OYEC).

OYEC consists of a group of civically-engaged youth striving to make Ottawa a better city by working together with the municipal government on issues that affect young people the most, such as environmentalism and inclusivity. The group perfectly exemplifies Youth Ottawa’s core fundamental value: that youth should have a voice in policies that affect them most.

At 6:00 p.m., we will announce the championship prize for ‘Best Foursome’ and ‘Most Honest Foursome’, where each golfer will receive a prize sponsored by Enbridge.

We couldn't have done it without you!

As always, we would like to thank all of the companies and partners that helped make this happen. Mattamy has been our title sponsor since we started the Mayor’s Golf Tournament in 2000, and there have been several other sponsors both new and ongoing that have helped us bring this event to life for 25 years.

Listen to a piece we did with title sponsor Mattamy homes last year!

Title Sponsor: Mattamy Homes
Honourary Host: Mayor Jim Watson
Golf Cart: Ken Gordon Holdings
Trophy: Enbridge
Entertainment: Caivan Communities
Golf Balls: Minto Communities
Registration: Urbandale
Media sponsor: Rogers Radio

Of course, we would also like to thank the hole sponsors who donated:

Why Charity Events Matter

Charity events like these provide us with funding to continue our outreach. All of the money collected goes towards a good cause; but even more importantly, charity events are the start of a butterfly effect. Even a small donation could be the key to one more student’s long-term success.

However, the fundraising doesn’t end at the ticket purchase. Often, the ticket price goes towards paying off the event itself. This is why all attendees are asked to continue donating throughout the day in various ways, whether through our silent auction, raffle, or simply donating directly!

We thank you for doing your part in supporting youth all around Ottawa by donating!

If you are interested in supporting Youth Ottawa’s program, please consider donating here.

July 27, 2022July 27, 2022

End of School Year Report 2021-2022

Thanks for a great school year!

As life is returning to normal, Youth Ottawa is returning stronger than ever.

We have seen such amazing innovation happen this year and want to congratulate all those who made it possible! Without all the teachers, students, and partners who welcomed us into their classrooms and supported the youth who needed it, we would not have been able to accomplish so much. Thank you all who were a part of our story this year!

As we close off the school year and look ahead to September 2022, we are sharing our end-of-school year report to highlight the amazing student projects from the past year.

Thanks for a great school year!

As life is returning to normal, Youth Ottawa is returning stronger than ever.

As we close off the school year and look ahead to September 2022, we are sharing our end-of-school year report to highlight the amazing student projects from the past year.

Check out the report!

Thank you for supporting youth in the past and upcoming year!

What's next?

Are you interested in re-engaging your students next year through one of our programs? Connect with us to find out how by emailing i nfo@youthottawa.ca

July 11, 2022September 21, 2022

Meet the 25th Annual Spirit Award Winners

The Newest Generation of Changemakers

Introducing the 25th Annual RBC Spirit of the Capital Award Recipients

It’s that time of year again! We are pleased to announce the recipients of the 25th annual RBC Spirit of the Capital Youth Awards.

The Spirit Awards is a celebration of our city’s youth presented by RBC and hosted by Youth Ottawa. Each year we acknowledge and feature the diverse ways young people are shaping their communities across our city, through seven categories. These youth are turning awareness into action and inspiring others to become agents of change. Learn more about the history of the Spirit Awards here!

On October 26 2022, we will be gathering for an evening of celebration at the Shenkman Arts Centre in Orleans.

The Awards Gala is a youth-friendly event held in the heart of Ottawa. Last year, the event was live streamed for the public, but this year’s event will be open to anyone who wants to join us celebrate these amazing youth!

We are so excited for you to meet these incredible changemakers!