Two students win Terry Fox Humanitarian Award
Two Calgarians continuing the legacy of Canadian cultural icon Terry Fox are among 20 scholars who have been awarded the prestigious Terry Fox Humanitarian Award valued at up to $28,000.
Sheliza Kassam, from the Schulich School of Engineering at the University of Calgary, and Bailey Oleksyn, a student at the University of Alberta, both knew at a young age they wanted to give back and have now donated thousands to charities.
Oleksyn began her charitable efforts at just six years old after her dad died from cancer. Since then, she’s been dedicated to the Terry Fox Foundation and has raised almost $20,000 by hand crafting bracelets and selling them locally.
“Bailey has volunteered hundreds of hours as of 2017 with a variety of organizations, including the Edmonton Brain Care Centre, Stuttering Clinic and Down Syndrome Society,” said a news release.
Kassam began her philanthropic ways when she was 12. Five years ago, she founded Children’s Birthday Miracles, a charitable organization dedicated to throwing monthly birthday parties for less-fortunate children. Events are thrown for children in four Canadian cities — Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Strathmore, as well as in Kenya, Tanzania and Peru.
“The charitable organization has hosted over 64 birthdays worldwide and impacted over 4,000 underprivileged children living in homeless shelters and orphanages, as well as for those diagnosed with cancer,” read the release.
The two women are currently pursuing undergraduate degrees at their respective universities. Kassam is a chemical engineering student, and Oleksyn is pursuing her dream of becoming a speechlanguage pathologist.
The Terry Fox Humanitarian Award was established in 1982 in hopes of advancing his humanitarian legacy and honouring his life.