THUNDER BAY - Bridget Steele said she has worked very hard to get to where she is today, and with all that hard work being recognized with a provincial award, she can look back at how her accomplishments have not only impacted her life, but the lives of so many others as well.
“I’ve done a lot of volunteer work with different organizations,” she said. “Volunteering is important to me because it has taught me a lot of different things.”
Steele, now 19-years-old, graduated from Superior Collegiate and Vocational Institute in the spring and she has been named one of six Empowered Kids of Ontario Scholars.
The scholarship program supports youth with special needs to achieve their education and career goals. Since 2011, 46 students across Ontario have received the award and can qualify for scholarships of up to $1,000.
“At first I was surprised that they picked me as a student,” Steele said.
The award was certainly well deserved. Steele, who has autism and a set of writing challenges known as dysgraphia, has been serving her community and school for several years.
While most high school students work to achieve 40 hours of required community service, Steele completed more than 300.
She has served on her school council, helped plan events and fundraisers for autism, started a school recycling program, worked with the Kettle Campaign, and Adopt-a-Family during the holidays.
She is also an experienced athlete and was a member of her school’s cross-country running team, the cross-country ski team, and the soccer team.
But she has also spent much of her time volunteering at the George Jeffrey Children’s Centre, which she said has helped her become the success she is today.
“George Jeffrey’s is important to me because I’ve had services from here since I was three,” she said. “I want to do more volunteer work here and in the community.”
“All of us here at the Centre are very proud and at Empowered Kids Ontario of Bridget’s accomplishments,” said George Jeffrey Children’s Centre CEO, Tina Bennett. “We are so proud to see children and youth that have received services here at the past achieve their goals and move on with their career aspirations.”
Bennett added that all of Steele’s hard work and dedication to the Centre has been an inspiration to not only the staff, but also other youth who see what they can accomplish, too.
“It’s not always easy and it is hard work, but when kids and families come here to the Centre, the therapists who work here are very skilled and experts at what they do, but it’s really he kids and their families who do all of the hard work to achieve their goals,” she said.
Steele will be attending Confederation College in September for the office administration program. She hopes to continue volunteering and perhaps working at the George Jeffrey Children’s Centre when she graduates.
“I want to get a job, possibly here and help other kids that need services from here,” she said.
And for other students and youth, Steele had an important message for why volunteering is so important.
“It makes me feel included that people are encouraging me to do different things,” she said. “I have got out of it that I’ve met a lot of new people that have the same interests as me.”
