The Individual Leadership Award goes to....
The Honourable Ken Dryden, MP
The Honourable Ken Dryden, MP with Past- Chair John Sherrington and the Foundation's Executive Director, Ann Barnard Ball.
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Each year
the Children’s Aid Foundation honours individuals and corporations for their
investment in the Foundation. This year we were thrilled to present the
2009 Individual Leadership Award to the Honourable Ken Dryden at our Building
Brighter Futures Award Night which took place on September 23rd at
Torys LLP.
Mr. Dryden
is well-known for his achievements as a goaltender for the Montreal Canadiens
hockey team from 1971 to 1979; an illustrious time during which the team won
six
Stanley
cups.
Mr. Dryden has had many political achievements as well; he was first elected to the House of Commons as the Member of Parliament for York Centre in 2004 and was re-elected in 2006 and 2008. Currently, Mr. Dryden serves as the Liberal Party’s National Advisor on Poverty and Working Families.
In 1996, he created the Ken Dryden Scholarships, awarded to young people currently or formerly in the care of the Canadian child welfare system who demonstrate great achievement and promise. At the Foundation, we believe that this is one of his greatest accomplishments yet - giving the gift of hope and a promising future to very deserving youth. To date, Mr. Dryden has given out over 115 scholarships, which is unmatched in the Foundation’s history. The Children’s Aid Foundation is honoured to be partnering with Mr. Dryden to administer his scholarship program.
One of Mr. Dryden’s scholarship recipients, who has since gone on to graduate from post-secondary education and has become a teacher, wrote to explain the impact of his support. The letter reads:
| You
were never told my full life story that would bring you to tears or
heartbreak. But you knew that I needed your help! You knew that every
child deserves a fighting chance despite his/her social and economic
background. As difficult as my past was to overcome, I never allowed it
define the scope of my dream. My mentors, friends, social workers,
Children’s Aid Foundation and you, helped to support a dream that I
struggled to keep alive. My endeavor to become a teacher was realized,
primarily due to all of this support. As you have built and
accomplished so much, we in turn have become builders of our own future
by redefining what it means to be a former "Youth in Care." |
Testimonies like this are given by many youth who have benefited over the years from the Ken Dryden Scholarship Program. However in his acceptance speech, Mr. Dryden humbly stated that “all these kids want is a chance and that’s what I’m trying to do; give them a chance to succeed.”
Thank you Mr. Dryden for your unwavering commitment to help youth pursue their dreams.
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