Verdun’s One Tomato Plant at a Time wins at Centraide Gala

Centraide of Greater Montreal held its annual Distinction Awards ceremony Thursday night at the Montreal Science Centre.

Some 300 people gathered for the Solidaires Awards. The event celebrates outstanding fundraising campaigns for Centraide, as well as the remarkable work of some of the agencies supported by Centraide.

Solidaires were awarded to the following companies:

Desjardins Group

BMO Financial Group

KPMG

The  Guarantee Company of North America

HEC Montreal

Sandoz Canada

Metro

PwC

Gaz Metro and two of its unions: Confederation des syndicats national, Canadian Office and Professional Employee Union

Honorary mentions went to Xerox Canada and Pratt Whitney Canada.

Centraide also celebrated outstanding initiatives by community agencies and volunteers working to fight poverty and social exclusion.

The Centre de femmes du Haut Richelieu received the Solidaires for Empowerment. It’s an agency that mobilizes women in its community to help them find their own solutions to food security issues. They support community kitchens and collective gardens.

Four volunteers at L’Ancre des Jeunes in Verdun were honored for their work providing ongoing and individualized support to young people. Between them Louis-Andre Bellemare, Jean-Pierrre Phaneuf, Jean-Guy Marsan and Huguette Piché have more than 66 years experience promoting school perseverance.

Manon Rousseau was awarded the Solidaires  for Leadership. She is the founder and executive director of the Centre communautaire Val-Martin for her work with youth and families in Chomedy.

The One Tomato Plant at a Time project in Verdun won the Solidaires Mobilization for promoting food security and empowerment. This project involves several community partners: Dawson Community Centre, SouthWest United Church and Mission, Riverview Elementary School and the Riverview Community Learning Centre.

Tassia Camoes, a volunteer at Santropol Roulant, also won a Solidaires Mobilization. She has dedicated hundreds of hours to building a strong inter-generational community.

Also on Thursday evening, the Michele Thibodeau-DeGuire Award was presented to James C. Cherry, President and Chief Executive Officer of Aéroports de Montreal. Cherry has been a volunteer for Centraide for more than 17 years. Most recently he chaired the board of directors and served as co-chair of the strategic planning committee.

Centraide of Greater Montreal supports more than 360 community agencies in Montreal, Laval and the south shore. It is supported by some 1,700 public and private companies and organizations. Nearly 80,000 people volunteer for Centraide’s campaign and its member agencies.

To find out more about Centraide of Greater Montreal: www.centraide-mtl.org