Social Justice Network awards R. Maxine Awedalla with the Social Justice Educator of the Year Award on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, January 18, 2021

OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, January 18, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Social Justice Network, presents R. Maxine Awedalla with the Social Justice Educator of the Year Award for 2020 – 2021. R. Maxine Awedalla was nominated by students from the University of Toronto’s Mental Health Association.

Maxine Awedalla, an Educator, business woman and humanitarian was lauded for being an innovative educator, a pragmatic curriculum developer and compassionate visionary who inspired students ages 8 to 30 to advocate for the underdog and dream big in their studies, volunteer work and in life. Sarah Smith remembers Awedalla for her long hours of volunteer work and never saying no to a meeting with students. Mrs. Awedalla taught me that charities are desperately needed but are at risk every day from closing because funding is scarce and there is a great deal of competition for funding, Ms. Awedalla said the only way to address this is for the charity to deliver the best services to its clients in an exemplary, reliable and authentic way.”

David Schwartz said Awedalla would frequently take calls and texts from students late at night and was committed to finding balance between the demands of family with two kids, a full time job and volunteering for various humanitarian organizations. Steve Bell, a student gained inspiration and caught the humanitarian bug from Awedalla and credited her for helping him find full time employment for when he graduates in April 2021. “Maxine Awedalla, I call her ‘Prof’ would answer my text messages at 2 a.m. in the morning if I was completing an assignment and task and had a question. That’s dedication. The biggest thing I learned from her was to believe in myself. I took big risks within the job description of what I was supposed to be doing and reached incredible goals which I did not think were possible”. Laura Brown said Maxine Awedalla was tough and had high standards but always took the time to explain the decisions she made and to work alongside her with every task she delegated. “Maxine had very high expectations for herself and all of the students, but she was always joyful and gave compliments to others. In the end I cannot even begin to communicate how much I learned and the levels of success she prepared me for. I am nineteen years old and I feel ready to run my own company or to enter a middle management position. I could never have learned what I did with any other teacher. “

The winner of the Social Justice Network’s Educator of the Year award receives fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) to donate to the Charity of their choice. Maxine Awedalla chose to donate her prize money to the National Collaboration for Youth Mental Health (www.ncymh.com) who provides counselling services to diverse and every youth from all races, cultures and orientations with two (2) hours. Awedalla was overjoyed. “It has been a passion of mine to work with children and youth, first as a parent, then an educator and now as a mentor who seeks to neutralize learning environments and corporate/government offices though Equity and Inclusion Education so all students and communities can succeed. It’s a very difficult time for BIPOC charities which serve all races because these charities receive 1% of all donations because of systemic discrimination”. I have confidence in NCYMH’s services because they always go above and beyond the norm in meeting the needs of youth, families and communities.” Maxine Awedalla will receive her Awrad prize money on Martin Luther King Day on January 18, 2021. Other educators who were nominated and made the semi-finalist list were from across Canada and included retired teacher June Girvan, Camille Williams-Taylor, Melinda Daye, Sylvia Smith, Casey Litto, Aaron Osowiecki, Juliet Sesanker Daniel, Aiman Flahat, Cheryl Ann Samuel Graham and Jacqueline Spence.

Contact: Sarah Smith
Email: awards@socialjusticenetwork.ca
Website: www.socialjusticenetwork.ca

Sarah Smith
Social Justice Network
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