Motivation. Passion. Determination. Empathy.
These are traits that all six of this year's Canadian Living Me to We Award winners share. From the nine-year-old girl who gives up birthday presents to raise money for kids in India to the CEO who is devoting her energy to preventing the sexual abuse of children, this year's winners are all "ordinary" Canadians who have made an extraordinary impact in their communities – and the world.
For five years, Canadian Living Magazine and Me to We founders Craig and Marc Kielburger have honoured those who truly think "we" before "me." Offering winners $5,000 each to donate to a cause that they are passionate about, the Canadian Living Me to We Awards help these heroes to continue helping others.
Social action
Glori Meldrum • Edmonton
Glori Meldrum is a little warrior. Between the ages of eight and 10, she was repeatedly sexually abused by a relative. Faced with a family in denial, she was suicidal by age 12. But rather than take her own life, Glori chose to fight.
A self-described "tough kid," Glori is now a married mother of three and successful entrepreneur who runs two companies, G Squared and Trafik Interactive. While these responsibilities would be enough to keep most people more than busy, Glori wanted to do more. So four years ago she founded Little Warriors, a national organization that educates adults about the sexual abuse of children and teaches them how to prevent it. "We talk about what situations to be mindful of, the signs and symptoms to look for and what to do when a child discloses [that he or she has been abused]," says Glori of the three-hour training programs that Little Warriors holds in cities across Canada.
The Little Warriors website has received five-and-a-half million hits in the past 24 months, and in just a few years 150 trainers have educated more than 3,000 people. Glori hopes to train and empower 100,000 more individuals, with a focus on educating teachers. She also wants to build a ranch for survivors of sexual abuse so they have a place to go to heal, and to show more victims that they can speak out, become warriors and survive – like she did.
"Sexual abuse of children was a darkness people wanted to keep buried," says Glori. "No one wanted to talk about it before, but now they are and, for me, that is key."
– Elizabeth Zahur
• Glori will use her Me to We Award money to provide bursaries for people who can't afford to attend the Little Warriors training program (sessions cost $40).
Page 1 of 5 – Read more about our winners in the Educator and Community categories on page 2.
