Newmarket students among winners of YRP social justice awards

The awards are given out to students who have demonstrated a strong commitment to social justice in their school and community

Winners of the poster contest with representatives from YRP. Twitter

Two students from Newmarket schools were among the youth recognized by the York Regional Police Community Advisory Council (PCAC) for their contributions to social justice in the community.

Earlier in the year, the council accepted applications for both a poster and video contest and the Leadership in Social Justice Achievement Award, which is given to Grade 12 students throughout York Region who have demonstrated a strong commitment to social justice in their school and community.

“It’s not about grades, it’s about what have you done for your community when it comes to social justice and human rights,” said Josie Rose, co-chair of the PCAC.

Students had to submit a short essay explaining how they have shown "leadership toward the goals of equity, inclusion and social justice in one of the following areas: ability, age, culture, gender, gender identity, language, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status through community engagement or employment."

One of the recipients of the award this year was Pickering College student Rosie Xuan. Each recipient received $500.

A Newmarket student was also one of the winners of the poster contest, which was open to students from Grade 7 to 12. They had to submit a poster on the theme of resilience through community, inspired by the community coming together during the pandemic.

Leanne Eyre, who was a grade 12 student at Sacred Heart Catholic High School, was one of the winners for that contest. Each winner received $200.

Both the leadership award and the poster contest were in their fourth year of running, but a video contest component was added this year. It was on the same theme as the poster contest but encouraged students to submit a short video instead.

Chief Jim MacSween attended the ceremony recognizing these youth on Dec. 6. He said on social media that the future looks bright.

"Their innovative ideas and creativity are truly remarkable. They are our future leaders," he said of the recipients.

Here is a full list of the winners:

Poster Contest