Youth who are involved in social justice and human rights in the community have an opportunity for their contributions to become cash with two different awards from York Regional Police's Police Community Advisory Council (PCAC).
For the fourth year, the Leadership in Social Justice Achievement Award will be given to 12 students in Grade 12 across York Region who have demonstrated a strong commitment to social justice in their school and community. Each winner receives $500.
The award used to be called a scholarship but the name was changed to show that it's not about how you do in school.
“It’s not about grades, it’s about what have you done for your community when it comes to social justice and human rights,” said Josie Rose, co-chair of the PCAC.
Students can apply for the award as long as they attend a school in York Region and are graduating from Grade 12 in June 2022. They then have to submit a 600 to 800-word essay that outlines how they show "leadership toward the goals of equity, inclusion and social justice in one of the following areas: ability, age, culture, gender, gender identity, language, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status through community engagement or employment."
Rose said past award winners have made contributions like starting groups for female empowerment and participating in global initiatives and creating their own organizations. One of the winners last year was a young man with autism who was helping other people with autism navigate school and the world around them.
“These youth are amazing," Rose said. “It is very incredible, and that’s just some of them."
Applications for the award have to be submitted via email to [email protected] by June 10. They will then be reviewed by the council who will determine the 12 winners.
For those who are a bit younger, there is a second contest. Students from grades 7 to 12 can enter the poster or video contest.
Students are invited to make a poster or video connected to this year's theme of "Resilience through Community" and what it means to them. The theme is inspired by the experiences of the past couple of years with COVID-19 and how community came together throughout the pandemic.
This is the fourth year that the poster contest has run but the first year they have added the video component. Students can submit both a poster and video entry.
For the posters, one winner from each grade will be chosen and they will receive $200 each. Three winners will be chosen from all the video submissions, and each will receive $200.
The submission deadline for this contest is also June 10, 2022. Winners of both the contest and the achievement award will be recognized at a ceremony on International Human Rights Day on Dec. 9.
Rose said it is important to engage youth in human rights initiatives especially amid a rise in hate crimes, which she said are often perpetrated by young people.
“There’s a rise in hate crimes, especially amongst youth, so we want to talk to youth about hate crimes and how they can combat that and not engage in those types of activities,” she said.
Hate crimes is one of the topics that will be covered at an upcoming conference led by PCAC and local youth for high school aged students. The conference will be held on May 7. Other topics covered will be knowing your rights, mental health, and social justice.
Youth can register for the free event online.
