The team at Building Blocks Daycare, one of the recipients of the Passionate Hearts Exceptional Team award (photo supplied by the County of Grande Prairie)

By Liam Verster

Passionate Heart Awards

Social service providers in Grande Prairie area earn Passionate Heart Awards

Feb 16, 2021 | 1:00 PM

The 15th annual Passionate Heart Awards, which honour social service workers and providers, were handed out virtually this year.

The awards are sponsored by the Family Community Support Services in both the City and County of Grande Prairie; the towns of Beaverlodge, Sexsmith and Wembley; and the Village of Hythe. They are based on nominations and are awarded to individuals and organizations that contributed to the community through providing enhanced social services and showed dedication to improving quality of life in the community.

The 2021 Passionate Heart Awards were given to five individuals, two teams, and one business.

The winners of this year’s Passionate Hearts Exceptional Service Awards were:

• Krystle Bush, a Community School Liaison Counsellor for the County of Grande Prairie, was nominated for her work at Beaverlodge Elementary School, where she plays an integral role in supporting students, families, staff and the community.
• Jen Clevette, the Principal at Harry Balfour School, for going above and beyond in connecting with students, families and staff.
• Randy Nagel, the Assistant Principal at Peace Wapiti Academy, for his role in creating a safe and welcoming environment for students both inside and outside the classroom.
• Anna Stewart, the Home Support Coordinator in Community Social Development at the City of Grande Prairie, was nominated for her role in serving the most vulnerable during a very challenging year.
• Anna Underwood, a librarian and town Councillor in Wembley, for building connections and providing support to youth, families and adults.
  The winners of the Exceptional Service Awards (Photo supplied by the County of Grande Prairie)

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There were two winners in the Exceptional Teams category for 2021, Swanavon School, and Building Blocks Daycare.

Dale Bond, the Home Support Coordinator for the County’s FCSS, says there were a number of reasons why Building Blocks won this year.

“[Building Blocks] was one of the first daycares to re-open when the call went out to open for essential workers for child care. So they stepped in there,” said Bond. “Along with all the additional reporting and cleaning, they just really stepped forward to take that first lead.”

Prior to reopening in the spring, Bond says Building Blocks also helped out the food bank.

“When they did shut down they also packed up everything they had in their space, so all the food, and they donated it to the food bank. So instead of having it go to waste or waiting to see what the next step was, they stepped in and they helped others who were potentially in greater need.”

Meanwhile, Swanavon School was recognized for the staff’s commitment to creating a welcoming, caring, inclusive, safe and respectful learning environment for students.

The final Passionate Heart Award, the Exceptional Business Award, was awarded to Browns Social House Westgate for their work to support various charitable events, while also working to establish their own charity.

Brown’s, with Owner’s Jim and Natalie Rawsthorne, has sponsored many local charity events as well as sports teams. They have run a purse drive, provided weekly meals to feed the less fortunate, celebrated Random Acts of Kindness day and much more.

The team at Browns Social House in Grande Prairie were recognized as the Exceptional Business Award winner (Photo supplied by the County of Grande Prairie)

Along with the Passionate Hearts Awards, the Chris Henderson Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Tanice Jones, who has volunteered with a number of organizations in the community over the past 35 yeats.

Jones has worked as the City’s Day Home coordinator; has served as the coordinator for Watch me Grow Family Day Home; has held various roles at Stepping Stones Daycare Society; and is currently the Team Lead for the Healthy Families Home Visitation program in Grande Prairie.

Bond adds that these awards were good to hand out following the difficult year that has passed.

“It’s just an opportunity to really reflect and to realize the importance of human connection and take a step back and know that there’s so many great individuals, teams and businesses all around our community that step up both in times of good and bad. It just really warms the heart, so to speak.”

All of the physical awards were delivered to the winners by those who nominated them, and there was a special virtual event held on February 12 to honour the recipients.