Community Builders

At the 19th annual Community Builder of the Year Awards, Erin Benjamin received the Ambassador Award for her leadership in the music industry and in Ottawa tornado relief efforts.

For his astounding contributions to building community, Steve was recently presented with a special surprise from United Way Ottawa.

Throughout the year, United Way Ottawa recognizes Community Builders from across our city. But once annually, we celebrate seven Community Builders of the Year.

Doug has made Ottawa a better place—now it’s time to make a difference in St. John’s.

Some of the greatest volunteers in Ottawa don’t know how appreciated they are, and that’s why we love to surprise them.

By day, he’s a student at both the University of Ottawa and Carleton University. By night, and day, and morning, and evening… well, all the time: he volunteers all over Ottawa, making our city a more vibrant place to live.

One of her greatest achievements? Distributing thousands of toys to children in need around the city through her team’s Toy Mountain Christmas campaign.

Marie Hackett is the kind of spectacular person who is both undaunted by big problems and is willing to change her life to find big solutions.

Thanks to Dr. Motayne, young people all over Ottawa wake up proud of who they are. It takes a passionate, kind and caring leader like Dr. Motayne to make a difference, and we are pleased to have him join the ranks of United Way Community Builders.

Calla Barnett’s colleagues describe her as the glue that holds people together. United Way presented her with a Community Builder Award to celebrate Capital Pride Week.

The Ottawa Rape Crisis Centre has supported survivors of sexual assault for nearly 45 years, providing a wide array of programming and advocacy to serve each survivor’s diverse needs.

Shelley Rolland-Poruks has volunteered in every city or town she’s ever lived in. Here’s how this Community Builder Award winner balances it all.

Depuis 20 ans, la Coalition des maisons communautaires d’Ottawa aide des centaines de familles à faible revenu de notre ville à se loger. C’est pour cette raison, ainsi que l’effet de son travail au sein de notre communauté, que la coalition a obtenu le Prix de bâtisseurs communautaires de l’année de Centraide Ottawa en 2018.

For 20 years, the Ottawa Coalition of Community Houses has helped make a home for hundreds of our city’s low-income families. It is because of this, and the impact their work continues to have on our community, that they received United Way Ottawa’s 2018 Community Builder of the Year Award.

EcoEquitable is a small, dynamic social enterprise that supports isolated newcomer women looking to develop connections with their community and increase their financial stability.