Shine a light on your local heroes through the 2022 Community Recognition Awards

Heroes are all around us.

They can be the student who brought their peers together to raise money for Ukrainian refugees, or the neighbour that quietly shovelled your driveway in the middle of the night.

All are worthy of recognition and the chance to shine a light on the good they do is just around the corner.

The Town of Aurora is now accepting applications for the 2022 Community Recognition Awards.

The nomination process, which is open through Friday, April 4, is a way to highlight volunteers and contributors who are the backbone of our community.

“We all know people in our community who are well-deserving of each and every one of those awards,” says Mayor Tom Mrakas.

Awards this year include:

Volunteer Service Awards: Honouring individuals with 20, 25, 35, and 40+ years of continuous service to the Aurora community

Youth Volunteer Award: Presented to a citizen up to the age of 19 who, through their volunteer efforts, has made a significant contribution to the community and has demonstrated their commitment to being a positive leader today and in the future.

Senior Volunteer Award: Presented to a citizen above the age of 55 who, through their volunteer efforts, has made a significant contribution to the community and has demonstrated their commitment to being a positive leader today and in the future.

Green Award: Honouring an individual, business or community organization that supports the protection, preservation, sustainability or conservation of our natural environment, this award celebrates those who share the Town's commitment to creating a greener community.

Arts & Culture Award: Presented to an individual or group that has enhanced the community through their support or promotion of culture, music, visual, performing or literary arts.

Community Leadership Award: Presented to an individual, business or community organization that has significantly enhanced the Town through their contribution, commitment and leadership in the areas of charitable giving, civic engagement, community events or community spirit.

Good Neighbour Award: Presented to someone who embodies what it means to be a good neighbour, this award recognizes and celebrates the simple acts of kindness and compassion that help create connected and vibrant neighbourhoods.

Good Business Award: Presented to an Aurora business that has shown its commitment to assisting Aurora's economic prosperity, corporate responsibility, and community involvement through its ongoing support of charitable causes, events or programs.

Inclusivity Award: Presented to an individual, group or business which has contributed to making Aurora a more accessible and/or inclusive place to live, work and play for all people regardless of race, ancestry, national or ethnic origin, creed, religion, age, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, family status or ability.

Community Safety Award: Presented to an individual dedicated to the development, promotion, or support of initiatives that improve community safety, recognizing that safer communities only happen when individuals take action to make a difference.

Citizen of the Year

“This is a consistent and continual opportunity to recognize the special people, organizations and groups that make Aurora truly what it is,” says Shelley Ware, Special Events Coordinator for the Town of Aurora. “The categories are meant to be all-encompassing to all the different areas of Aurora that have been curated from the community, from the Community Safety Award to the Good Neighbour Award, the Senior Award, the Youth Award. It really tries to span across all the great endeavours that are being done locally.

“It was especially humbling to see, especially over the last two years, which have been some really challenging times for individuals, businesses and organizations, to see those who continue to strive to give back, especially in industries which were directly hit harder than some other industries. When you look at restaurants giving back and fundraising for other endeavours, it is, to me, mind-blowing.

“I don't think people give of their time for the purposes of being recognized for it and that, in itself, is commendable. There are so many good neighbours out there and a good neighbour isn't necessarily the person who geographically lives beside you. To the person or group receiving the benefits of it, it truly makes a massive, massive difference. As people are looking out thinking you might not have someone to readily nominate, you wouldn't be too hard-pressed to look back and think, ‘When was the last time I saw someone making a difference?' I think, sometimes, when you rephrase the question in your introspective thinking, floods of ideas of people and gestures come to mind.”

For more information, including nomination forms for all categories, visit aurora.ca/cra.

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter