Canadian Living Me to We Award winners and honourable mentions

Social action
BRIAN O'LEARY, HOUSING ADVOCATE, CALGARY

In Brian O'Leary's prosperous hometown of Calgary, low-income families sleep in church basements, squeezed out by an expensive housing market. And "that's not the kind of society we want to build," says the 54-year-old lawyer. To provide affordable, stable accommodation to vulnerable families, he helped found the Calgary Community Land Trust Society in 2002, with the legal support of his firm, Burnet, Duckworth and Palmer.

The trust solicits donations of land and cash to buy land, then offers long-term leases of the land to nonprofit organizations such as Habitat for Humanity. This revenue, in turn, will be used to buy more land. Twenty-seven townhouses will be finished by spring, and 15 units on a second piece of land are in the works.

Brian brings the same results-oriented drive and enthusiasm to his volunteer work that he does to his practice. Without the trust, "those units wouldn't be there," he says. "That's what makes it so satisfying." His keenness has sparked social consciousness throughout the firm. Other lawyers are taking on pro bono work and serving on the boards of nonprofit organizations. "I think we're starting to live the Me to We philosophy," Brian says.

Click here to see Brian in Canadian Living magazine.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Burris Devanney, Halifax.
For opening the eyes and minds of young Canadians to the struggles of West African people and working to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Peter Kendall, Belfountain, Ont.
For fostering environmental awareness and sustainable community development through the Niigon Technologies project, which partnered government, business and the Moose Deer Point First Nation in Ontario.
Jessica Lax and Jocelyn Land Murphy, Ottawa.
For inspiring young Canadians through The Otesha Project to make earth-friendly choices and showing by example that changing the world for the better can be cool.