"Toronto Public Health's goal is a healthy city for all, but that would not be achievable without the ongoing efforts of people and organizations that work to reduce and remove the barriers that stand in the way of better health," said Dr. David McKeown, Toronto's Medical Officer of Health. "These awards recognize the work of our health partners that share knowledge, promote new and innovative approaches to health, and empower communities to be more involved in solutions that work for them."
A Board of Health committee will review the nominations and select an individual and organizational winner based on demonstrated achievement in one or more of the following four areas: providing leadership, fostering collaboration, building community capacity through innovative health promotion strategies, and achieving impact by acting as a catalyst for positive change.
Last year's winners of the Public Health Champion Awards were Colin Hughes, individual award (posthumous) for his more than 25 years as a community worker with the Children's Aid Society and as a respected child and family poverty activist, and the Toronto Cancer Prevention Coalition, recipient of the organization award. The coalition has played a leadership role in education and advocacy over the last 15 years to prevent the major causes of cancer.
Nominations for this year's awards are open until April 30. Online submissions, nomination form to download, eligibility guidelines and a list of previous winners are available at http://www.toronto.ca/PublicHealthChampionAwards.
This year's recipients will be honoured at an awards ceremony in June.
