BC Council for Families

Winners of the 2011 Distinguished Service to Families Award

Vancouver, BC, June 13, 2011 -- Making a difference for families takes vision, creativity, leadership and determination. At the BC Council for Families, we have a name for people with those qualities: Family Champions. And to celebrate their accomplishments, each year we award the Distinguished Service to Families Award to two Family Champions in BC.

Family Champions can come in all shapes and sizes – from big organizations to single, determined individuals. Since 1987, when the BC Council for Families first began celebrating family champions in BC with the Distinguished Service to Families Award, we’ve honoured an incredible diversity of people and organizations.  This year, we were pleased to highlight the more than 20 years of significant accomplishments for young people made by Aunt Leah’s Independent Lifeskills Society, and the contributions to the families of North Vancouver made by Elsie Webb.

“Family service is an area of work in which significant accomplishment all too often goes unrecognized and unrewarded,” said BC Council for Families Executive Director Glenn Hope. “The Distinguished Service to Families Awards highlight some of the truly inspiring work that is going on every day in communities all around BC.”

Each year, the Distinguished Service to Families Awards are presented to one individual and one organization who, through their professionalism, commitment to excellence, creativity and leadership have made a significant contribution towards the enhancement of family life in BC.

The 2011 Distinguished Service to Families Awards were presented at the BC Council for Families’ Annual General Meeting in Vancouver on Friday June 10. Aunt Leah’s Independent Lifeskills Society, along with North Vancouver child care provider Elsie Webb, were honoured by the Council for their accomplishments on behalf of youth and families in British Columbia.
 


About the Winners

Since 1988, the Aunt Leah’s Independent Lifeskills Society has helped youth leaving government care to prepare for independent living.  Aunt Leah’s offers young people a safe place to live while getting access to a support worker, opportunities for creative expression, time management and budgeting skills, tenancy rights information, and more, for living on their own.

Praise for Aunt Leah’s: “I have worked with the Aunt Leah’s Society for approximately 20 years. This is a group of committed individuals with an established ‘track’ record of providing support and housing for the ‘at risk’ individuals and families in Vancouver.” – Ronald Abrahams MD, Medical Director of the FIR Unit
 
As Executive Director of the Highlands Out of School Care Society, Elsie Webb has been working with children aged 5 to 12 and their families for more than a decade.  Through her dedication to the children in her care at “Kidsclub” she has made a positive difference for families in North Vancouver.

Praise for Elsie Webb: “Elsie has been an advocate and supporter of children who have been designated challenged, and has welcomed them into Kids Club when many other organizations have been unwilling to provide care for these children.” – Dr. Dawn Cheng
 

About the BC Council for Families


The BC Council for Families is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that is a leader in family life education, committed to strengthening families and family-serving professionals in BC. We provide research and resources on family issues, including our practical, affordably priced publications on diverse family topics. Our award-winning parenting programs include Nobody’s Perfect Parenting, MyTween and Me, and Parent-Child Mother Goose.

For more information please contact:


Marilee Peters, Director of Communications
604-678-8886 ext. 234 | marileep@bccf.ca