MUSLIM AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

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Past Winners - Awards

Friend of the Community

January 8, 2021
Posted by One MAX

03 Jan

Presented by: Sargent Farms

The Friend of the Community Award recognizes a non-Muslim individual who has demonstrated outstanding service to the Canadian Muslim community. The MAX Friend of the Community will have assisted in the achievement of certain strategic goals in key areas of importance to the community.

Eligibility Criteria:

A nominee must:

Identify as non-Muslim
Be Canadian citizen or permanent resident
Have helped to elevate the Muslim brand by promoting a positive image of Muslims and the Muslim community in Canada
Have promoted engagement between the Muslim community and broader Canadian society, thereby counteracting Islamophobia

Past Winners

Karen Scott (2021)

Friend of the Community
Bernie Farber (2019)

Friend of the Community
Brian Arthur Brown (2018)

Friend of the Community
Michelle Shephard (2017)

Friend of the Community
Peel District School Board (2017)

Friend of the Community
Jim Estill (2017)

Friend of the Community
Bonnie Crombie (2017)

Friend of the Community
Denis Edney (2016)

Friend of the Community

Awards

The objective of MAX Awards is to recognize Muslims who have demonstrated significant achievement, leadership, and commitment to serving their community.

Scholarships

MSF awards well-rounded High school and University students who are eager to make an impact, learn and create. Winners are students who have contributed to their communities and Canada at large, achieved above-average marks and are recognized by their peers, Muslim and non-Muslim alike. MSF is a registered charitable entity, and donors are eligible for a Charitable Tax Receipt.

Mentors

MAX Mentors is a professional mentorship program that connects near-career students with early career mentors and early career professionals with mid-career mentors to catalyze excellence amongst the Canadian Muslim community and help a new generation break glass ceilings.

Business

MAX Business LAB aims to facilitate and encourage the development & success of high performing Muslim decision makers in Business across three core principles:
i. L – Leadership
ii. A – Advisory
iii. B – Professional Training

Women in Leadership

MAX Women In Leadership is a program with a mission to celebrate, inspire and cultivate leadership excellence in Canadian-Muslim women. The program focuses on Recognition, Leadership, and Network & Partnerships, thereby connecting and mobilizing Muslim women across Canada to institute a strong and sustainable network.

MAX Gala

The Annual MAX Gala is an incredible night of celebration that offers a rare glimpse into the skills, talents and cultural strengths of a dynamic community of patriotic Canadian Muslims, whose continued efforts help build a strong workforce, energize the economy, and expand our combined cultural horizons. It represents the culmination of efforts of hundreds of volunteers across a plethora of teams at MAX.

Karen Scott (2021)

Friend of the Community

Karen Scott is the Executive Director of Muslim Children’s Aid and Support Services, a registered charity since 2004 whose mission is to be an overarching child protection and support agency for the diverse Muslim community. In this role, Karen grounded the Scarborough Simbas and Lives Rewritten in Mind, Body and Spirit programs to build resilience in newcomer Canadian children. ⠀
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Karen served as the co-chair of her church’s committee which sponsored one of the first Syrian refugee families in 2015. Refugee sponsorship turned Karen’s world upside down: changing her and her world views profoundly and enriching her life beyond measure. Karen remains actively involved in private refugee sponsorship and currently serves on the Board of the Private Refugee Sponsor Network (Ontario). ⠀
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Karen is grateful every day to her refugee family for the opportunity to walk beside them in their resettlement, and to all refugee families, staff, volunteers, Board, and numerous members of the community who have befriended, educated, supported, trusted, and inspired her. With God’s help, and her long-standing commitment to peace and social justice, Karen is dedicated to doing everything that she can to make a difference for Muslim children, youth, and families.⠀

Bernie Farber (2019)

Friend of the Community

Acknowledged as one of Canada’s most accomplished NGO CEOs, Bernie Farber’s career spans more than a quarter century focused on human rights, pluralism and inter-ethnic/faith/race relations. Recognized and called upon by the courts, media and law enforcement as an expert in human and civil rights he is one of the few in the field to be accepted by Canadian Courts as an expert in hate crime, white supremacy and anti-racism. His efforts have been documented in numerous Canadian Human Rights publications, books, newspapers, film documentaries and magazines. Mr. Farber has successfully run large NGO’s and Foundations such as Canadian Jewish Congress, the Paloma Foundation and the Mosaic Institute all focused on social justice and human rights. He has worked closely with the Canadian Muslim community in countering all forms of Islamophobia. He is a skilled consultant on matters of social justice, and he writes for various newspapers in Canada and the USA. He is Chair of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network and sits as an advisory board member of Human Rights Watch Canada. He chairs the Rights and Ethics Committee for Community Living Toronto and is a former co-Chair of the Ontario Anti-Racism Directorate.

Brian Arthur Brown (2018)

Friend of the Community

Michelle Shephard (2017)

Friend of the Community

Peel District School Board (2017)

Friend of the Community

Jim Estill (2017)

Friend of the Community

Bonnie Crombie (2017)

Friend of the Community

Denis Edney (2016)

Friend of the Community