The annual Lesbian, Gay, Bi Youth Line awards were given out to deserving young people at a fundraising banquet last week.
Outstanding Community Youth Event: Triangle Pride Prom Committee ’99
Outstanding Contribution To Community Involvement: Sara Bruntz (who volunteers at Supporting Our Youth (SOY) and Fruit Loopz and is a co-ordinator at LGBYT)
Outstanding Contribution To Queer Youth Activism: Nadia Bello (outed to her parents in the Toronto Star last year, she said during her acceptance speech that she was unable to proudly hang the award on her bedroom wall at home, but that she was honoured to receive it)
Outstanding Contribution To Arts And Culture: Anne-Marie Estrada (an artist who’s also at SOY, she helped found Fruit Loopz, the youth cabaret)
Outstanding Contribution To Health And Social Services: Ryan Handy (who’s a member of London’s PAYSO gay youth group and volunteers with HALO, the Homophile Association Of London, Ontario)
Outstanding Personal Achievement: Jordana Edelist (a 20-year-old who’s struggled, she’s now finishing high school)
Outstanding Contribution To Queer Youth Visibility: Mohammed Khan (founder of the Muslim gay group Al-Fatiha, he was also front and centre during last year’s vicious fight to include human rights protection for homosexuals at the Toronto school board)
Outstanding Contribution To A Safer Learning Environment: Josh Stevenson (a student at the gay-focussed Triangle Program who works on anti-homophobia education with the group TEACH).
The event raised more than $6,800.
The peer phoneline is at (416) 962-9688, outside of Toronto, call 1-800-268-9688.
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