One of the highlights of the evening was the Lipinski Awards Ceremony, held in honour of the late Michael Lipinski, who was the Manager of Welcoming Communities at DBNC. After his tragic passing in March 2021, DBNC started the Lipinski Scholarship Fund in support of two key areas: youth education and homelessness. Michael’s family (wife, Colleen, and sons, James and Connor) handed Simone Thomas the prestigious Lipinski Youth Leadership Excellence Award. Nominated by Barbara Janik and Theresa Awuni, from DBNC’s Employment Program, Simone walked away with a scholarship. Although Simone no longer volunteers with the program, the impression she left behind was so positive and significant that clients still request her by name!

Siblings, Muska and Masiulluah Samim took home the second tier of awards, the Youth Leadership awards, for their work in the Settlement Workers in School (SWIS) program. Nominated by Hind Al–khalayleh due to their tireless determination to make a difference, the awards were well deserved. As newcomers, these two had to navigate culture shocks and language barriers, and yet still managed to prove how truly exceptional they are.

Finally, 6 Volunteer Champion Awards were given to Thakshan Sriskandarajah, Kissan Manimaran, Baanujan Sivapalan, Ashvin Senthilkumar, Izzat Aldakak, and Gateek Chandak, for their leadership at our annual Summerfest event. Although the event was only a day long, their hard work was undoubtedly noticed as they set an example of strong leadership and decision-making skills.

Next year, will be DBNC’s 35^th year and our AGM will be the biggest celebration and tribute to three and a half decades of our mission. We hope to see you all there!