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 Sophia
Gran-Ruaz, 14
Mississauga, Ontario
Motivated by the lack of volunteer opportunities in her community
for young children, Sophia Gran-Ruaz founded a charity at the age
of 11.
"Snug as a Bug, Kids Helping Kids,"
is a charity that provides children staying in shelters with care
packages, in order to make their stay a little less frightening.
Each care package includes a variety
of items such as: book/novels, colouring/activity books, pencil
crayons, decks of playing cards, children's magazines and much
more.
In its first year, "Snug as a Bug,
Kids Helping Kids" created 500 packages for Interim Place North
and South.
The following year, Sophia's charity
doubled this amount and included a second shelter, Honeychurch
Salvation Army Family; last year, 2200 care packages were made and
a third shelter was added to the recipient list - Women Resources.
This year, Sophia hopes for 2500 care
packages to be made and the addition of a fourth shelter.
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 Sally
Hakim, 18
Toronto, Ontario
In 2004, Sally Hakim and her friends were watching television
during the Christmas holiday and witnessed the disastrous tsunami
which struck, and devastated, much of South East Asia.
With scarcely a second thought, Sally
rallied the student body which raised over $32,000 worth of
medical supplies to be used in the devastated region.
This experience was the beginning of
Sally's personal mission to inspire and raise the awareness of her
school's student body to the state of the rest of our community
and the world. Sally then went on to lead a project called,
Brick-by-Brick, where they raised over $13,000 towards building a
school in Kenya.
This past October Sally, with 12
other students, flew to Kenya to physically build one of the
classrooms. Upon her return, she realized that the most difficult
part of her experience was not the fundraising or labour involved
in building the classrooms, but rather the task of inspiring and
motivating individuals to help create positive change in the
world. Sally has found her calling. |
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 Raymond
Ko, 19
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
For as long as Raymond Ko can remember, music has always been his
passion. After receiving diplomas in violin and piano performance,
he read a study stating that "music therapy techniques have
significant, positive influences in the treatment of autism".
That fall, he founded the Music
Sensory Awakening Program after months of promoting the concept to
the board of directors of Autism Services, Saskatoon.
The Music Sensory Awakening Program
has grown from three students in the first year to over a dozen at
present, with many more on a waiting list. His students range in
age from as young as 3, to as old as 18. As a result, he has had
to develop various methods to engage his students.
Last year, Raymond performed in a
solo concert that raised $5,000 for the Program, and combined with
proceeds from his CD sales, he has raised over $7,000.
Raymond has also managed to attract
corporate sponsorship, and the Program is now supported by Cameco
Corporations, Point Optical, and Safeway Canada, to name a few.
Music and helping others - these are the passions that will
continue to inspire Raymond and direct his future career path as
well as his community involvement, as he heads into his twenties. |
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 Stephen
Lake, 17
Toronto, Ontario
Stephen Lake is a budding entrepreneur and owner of two successful
business ventures.
At the age of 13, Stephen's interest
in engineering and robotics led to the creation of RC Tunerz.
Having identified a need in the field
of radio controlled vehicles, Stephen started to create high
efficiency LED lighting systems for mobile vehicles. Stephen would
import parts from China and Japan and create finished products
which he would then sell on either his own e-commerce site or Ebay.
RC Tunerz has sold thousands of these lighting systems to be
installed on high end vehicles which can cost up to $1,000.
Two years later, at the age of 15,
Stephen identified another gap, this time in the DJ/entertainment
business and proceeded to start Harmonic Synergy Entertainment.
This business has been hugely successful and some of his clients
include Mary Kay Cosmetics and the Toronto District School Board.
His goal in 2008 is to hit annual
sales of $100,000 with a gross profit margin of 85%. |
