Academics and Advocacy earn 20 students

one of Canada’s top scholarships worth $60,000

TD Canada Trust Scholarship for Community Leadership program recognizes outstanding Canadian youth

TORONTO, ON, May 12, 2006 – Fighting child poverty and exploitation, speaking out for human rights issues and founding the first-ever student film festival are just a few of the accomplishments of 20 extraordinary high-school students awarded the TD Canada Trust Scholarship for Community Leadership. The scholarship program, one of Canada’s most prestigious, celebrates community leadership and academic excellence. The 20 homegrown heroes were recognized at a ceremony today in Toronto for their outstanding accomplishments in communities across Canada and on the global stage.

Selected by a jury of prominent Canadian Senators, business professionals and past winners, the 2006 scholarship winners – all graduating high-school students – receive full post-secondary tuition, $5,000 a year toward living expenses and an offer of summer employment at TD Canada Trust for up to four years – a total value of up to $60,000 each.

“These 20 exceptional students have achieved tremendous success at a very young age – their passion and dedication to improving communities across Canada and beyond is awe-inspiring,” said Tim Hockey, Co-Chair, TD Canada Trust. “These young men and women truly are Canada’s future leaders. TD Bank Financial Group is proud to recognize their great work and provide them with the support for their future academic and career endeavors.”

TD Canada Trust will donate more than $1 million to the scholarship recipients, part of its commitment to youth education that will total more than $2.5 million in 2006.

Demonstrating a passion for issues of local, national and global concern, achievements of the 2006 recipients include chairing a UN student conference on human rights, fighting child poverty, tackling self esteem among female teenagers, founding Canada’s first student-produced film festival and creating an AIDS awareness team – all while demonstrating consistent academic excellence. Selected from more than 3500 applicants, the winners hail from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

“These individuals serve as an inspiration to us all, and demonstrate the real difference perseverance, determination and action can make in a community,” said June Callwood, renowned author and social activist, and the keynote speaker at the awards presentation “They are a shining example of the difference one person can make – regardless of age.”

A complete list of recipients can be found at www.tdcanadatrust.co m /scholarship . Some of this year’s exceptional achievements include:

Namrata Jhamb of Burnaby, BC , who after realizing that desensitization and lack of awareness are major contributors to the spread of HIV/AIDS , created the AIDS Awareness Team at her school. Namrata was recently asked by the United Nations to chair an international student conference in New York on “Water as a Human Right.”

Riley Georgsen of Hanna, AB, created a voice for community youth by co-founding the Hanna Youth Council, a program that works to increase the respect and opinions of youth, strengthen the relationships between the adults and youth of the community, and promote civic pride through youth-driven activities and programs.  

Elena Allen-Lukawiecki of Saskatoon, SK, founded the human rights club at her school, working to raise awareness about human rights and social injustices. She also co-founded the Saskatoon Women’s Youth Group, a city-wide network and support group for high-school students that works to better girls’ self-confidence and interest in women’s issues.

Mario Dupont of Powerview, MB, established lunch-hour fiddle lessons for students in grades one to five. Mario has received the National Métis Youth Role Model Award and the Manitoba Aboriginal Youth Achievement Award for Artistic Performance for his fiddling and is dedicated to sharing his passion so that future generations will enjoy this unique aspect of the Métis culture.

Jason Apostolopoulos of Thornhill, ON, co-founded OneChild, an organization fighting the commercial sexual exploitation of children. Jason produced and wrote an in-flight video warning against child sex tourism, which is currently broadcast on all of Air Canada's international flights. Jason is also a founding member of the Youth Speakers’ Bureau and facilitated youth leadership programs in Canada, the United States, and Mexico for Leaders.

Philippe Lapointe of Montréal, QC, founded the fair trade group “Mundo Equidad” after an eye-opening trip to the Dominican Republic. The group has been very successful at encouraging campus stores and food outlets to offer fair trade products. Philippe is also the national co-coordinator of the Canadian Student Fair Trade.

Selected from more than 3,500 applications, regional judging panels interviewed a shortlist of 63 finalists to choose the 2006 winners, led by the scholarship program’s Executive Director Dr. Jane Thompson .  

The 2006 judges included Bryan Tisdall , President and CEO of Science World; Peter MacKinnon , President & Vice-Chancellor, University of Saskatchewan; Ruth Ramsden-Wood , President,United Way, Calgary & Area; Journalist & Community Activist June Callwood ; Senator, the Honourable Donald H. Oliver , QC ; Senator, the Honourable Landon Pearson ; Dr. Miriam Rossi , Chair, Board of Trustees, Harry Jerome Scholarship Fund; Charlotte Teeple , Executive Director, The Canadian Children’s Book Centre; Julie Toskan-Casale , Executive Director, Toskan Foundation; Louis Larivière , Director of Development, HEC; Dr. Stephen Toope , President, Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation; Dr. Gail Dinter-Gotlieb , President & Vice-Chancellor, Acadia University; Brian Tabor , QC, President, Canadian Bar Association; Senator, the Honourable Marilyn Trenholme Counsell ; and former TD Scholarship winners Oscar Miklos (2004), James Montgomery (2003), Debbie Yam (2003), Audrey Langlois (2003), Nana Yanful (2003) and Mary Ann Merchant (2002).

About the TD Canada Trust Scholarship for Community Leadership Program

The TD Canada Trust Scholarship for Community Leadership is open to all students in their final year of high school, and who will be attending post-secondary school during the following year. Applications for 2007 will be available as of September 1, 2006 at TD Canada Trust branches, high school and CEGEP guidance offices and online at www.tdcanadatrust.com/scholarship.

About TD Bank Financial Group Community Giving

TD Bank Financial Group is committed to supporting education and literacy in Canada.   In addition to the TD Summer Reading Club and TVO Reading Rangers, TD Bank Financial Group sponsors TD Canadian Children’s Book Week and the TD Canada Trust Scholarships for Outstanding Community Leadership. TDBFG also supports a variety of local, regional and national programs across Canada, promoting health, education and the environment.

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