Thursday, November 08, 2012

City of Brampton Honours CK With Neighbourhood Safety Award

BRAMPTON, Ontario - At a gala that consisted of the "Who's Who" of community safety in the Region of Peel, CK was honoured by receiving a Neighbourhood Safety Award along with his peers of the "Queen Kennedy Neighbourhood Team".

It all happened at the 30th Annual Brampton Safe City Association Awards Gala which was held at the very posh Riverstone Golf and Country Club. Among the dignitaries in attendance was the new Peel Regional Chief of Police, Jennifer Evans, who recently was sworn into power. The room was filled with many heroes in their own right. Firefighters, First Response, Community Crime Prevention organizations, volunteers and youth mentors. Each person that was honoured by an award has to be nominated and then taken into consideration by an awards committee. The recipients, and virtually the entire room consisted of real-life heroes in the community which has continued to make the City of Brampton one of (and the) safest places to live in the world.

The Brampton Safe City Association (BSCA) is a network of citizens, businesses, schools and community agencies working together with police, emergency services, government agencies and others to make their community as safe as it can be. The BSCA has been serving the Brampton community since 1982, and their mandate is to educate and engage citizens in safety.

The City of Brampton was named an "International Safe City" in 2007 by the World Health Organization (WHO) of Stockholm, Sweden and it was re-designated again in 2012.

As for CK being the recipient of the "Neighbourhood Safety Award", it was no easy task. There were many other neighbourhoods that were in the running and have made positive impacts in their communities. CK and his peers of the Queen Kennedy Neighbourhood Team had a successful year of community involvement. The award states the following in regards to the QKNT Team:

“The Queen-Kennedy Neighbourhood Team (QKNT) was formed in 2010 to empower the area residents to create and maintain a safe, vibrant, diverse neighbourhood. In the past two years, the Team has organized new neighbourhood events that engage residents of all ages in positive, fun activities. Families, children and seniors now take part in an annual Sports Day and Harvest Clean-up.

The busy QKNT Team has assisted other groups to organize neighbourhood events too - clothing drives, community BBQ's, a Love Brampton Carnival and the Refresh Program (repainting apartments). They've created a neighbourhood website to keep people connected and informed. Team members have written funding proposals to bring new financial resources to the neighbourhood, and have been successful in getting funds to start a Breakfast-Homework Club for Grade 1-5 students.

In 2012, this enterprising group of volunteers and agency staff partnered with the Peel Board of Education to deliver parenting workshops in the neighbourhood, with renowned North American parenting expert, Barbara Coloroso as a guest speaker.

The Team continues to do remarkable work, enhancing neighbourhood safety, connecting residents with one another and building community pride. Congratulations to the QKNT Members. You are an inspiration to other neighbourhoods in our city. ”

The Award Recipients of the 30th Annual Brampton Safe City Association were:


Special Recognition for 30 Years of Commitment to Brampton Safe City Association - Gael Miles	Special Recognition for Brampton's Best Neighbourhood - Autumn Ridge Drive	Children's Safety Award- Julianna Papp

Fire Safety Award - Turner Fenton SS Hospitality Team	Gael Miles Youth Award for Safety - Kyrel Thompson	Emergency Preparedness Award - Steve Cowton

Business Safety Award - Gray Tools Canada Inc.	Community Crime Prevention Award - 22 Division Foot Patrol Unit	Community Crime Prevention Award - Oscar Castaneda

Volunteer of the Year Award for Safety - Susan Azzopardi	Neighbourhood Safety Award - Queen Kennedy Neighbourhood Team	Lifetime Achievement Award- Deputy Chief Paul Tatzloff