March 11, 2015

 

Toronto Public Health is encouraging the public to nominate individuals and organizations for the 2015 Public Health Champion Awards. Toronto’s Board of Health established these awards in 2008 to recognize leaders in public health.

 

"There are many people who are dedicated to making Toronto a healthier and more equitable city," said Councillor Joe Mihevc (Ward 21 St. Paul's West), Chair of the Board of Health. "These awards celebrate individuals and organizations for their hard work protecting and promoting the health of Toronto residents." 

 

A Board of Health committee will review all of the entries and select one individual and one organization as award recipients based on their leadership in reducing health inequity, fostering collaboration to improve the health of the population, building community capacity through innovative health promotion strategies and acting as a catalyst for positive change. 

 

Last year's Public Health Champion Award winners were: 

 

• Individual Award: Margaret Leslie, Director of Early Interventions Program at the Canadian Mothercraft Society.  For nearly 30 years, Leslie has provided leadership to improve the health of mothers and children through innovative harm reduction, mental health and substance abuse programs.  She was instrumental in the development of Mothercraft's Breaking the Cycle, an initiative recognized by the United Nations as a best practice program serving pregnant and parenting women with substance abuse problems.

 

• Organization Award: Local Enhancement and Appreciation of Forests (LEAF), a not-for-profit organization that promotes the health of trees. Every year, the city's urban forest sequesters over 46,000 tonnes of carbon, which is equivalent to the emissions from 31,000 automobiles or 16,000 homes.  Carbon is a common air pollutant in Toronto's air that is responsible for premature deaths and hospitalizations.  Since 1996, LEAF has helped plant over 20,000 native trees and shrubs in Toronto and York Region, helping to improve the city's air quality.   

 

Nominations are open until April 30 and recipients will be honoured at an awards ceremony in June.  More information about the awards is available at http://www.toronto.ca/health.

 

This news release is also available on the City's website: http://bit.ly/1NKXCGj

 

Toronto is Canada's largest city, the fourth largest in North America, and home to a diverse population of about 2.8 million people. It is a global centre for business, finance, arts and culture and is consistently ranked one of the world's most livable cities. Toronto is proud to be the Host City for the 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games. For information on non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors can visit http://www.toronto.ca, call 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or follow us @TorontoComms.

 

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Media contact: Lenore Bromley, Toronto Public Health, 416-338-7974, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.