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continued from p.25 And the 2015 YMCA Peace Medallion Nominees are... care to attend post-secondary education. Oakville Taekwondo Club For more than 15 years, Masters Tino and Jamie Dossantos have been teaching taekwondo at the YMCA of Oakville through their organization, the Oakville Taekwondo Club. They stress the importance of character development and inclusion. Every child is made to feel valued, encouraged to be their best and inspired to share their unique abilities with others. Not only do Oakville Taekwondo they teach and coach, but they lead by personal example. With commitment and dedication, they make their program accessible to all,. Their annual Oakville Taekwondo Kick-athon, now in its tenth year, raises funds to help all children have the opportunity to participate in programs like Taekwondo. Since it began, the event has raised over $100,000 to help children and families in need in Oakville. 31 | Thursday, November 12, 2015 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com Together they have empowered more than 850 children through campaigns like Feed it UP!; fundraised to build a clean water well and a schoolhouse in India; EveryChildNow organized a group of Oakville youths to build 4,000 household protection kits sent to West Africa; and collected more than 25,000 school, food and clothing items for children in Canada and abroad. Vishal is just 14 years old, and Ishan 13. Vishal has also spoken about children's rights to more than 120,000 youths and educators across Canada as a We Day speaker, created an exhibit on children's rights and interviewed more than 50 well-known humanitarians, including Martin Luther King III, for a book they are writing. EveryChildNow has more than 70 youths from 20 different schools. Palermo Public School Me to We Team Palermo Me to We is a group of committed, passionate and inspiring 12- to 14-year-olds who are motivated to change the world. It contains Palermo Me to We team approximately 50 Grade 7 and 8 students. Every year the team organizes the We Scare Hunger Food Drive campaign, raising awareness of poverty in Oakville. The campaign has brought thousands of cans of food to Kerr Street Mission and Oakville Fare Share Food Bank. Other initiatives include working with Free the Children to help build a school and raising $16,000 to bring clean water to a village in India, hosting a bake sale to help with health care in India, and sending books to schools in Africa and school supplies to schools in Haiti. YouthSAID Group, Halton Children's Aid Society YouthSAID is a youth advocacy group, run by youth for youth, at the Halton Children's Aid Society (CAS). The group includes youths who are currently growing up in care of the CAS or former youths YouthSAID who grew up in care. Together, they advocate for the unique needs of youths in care. In 2014, YouthSAID was instrumental in the creation and implementation of the FUTURES Educational Program for youth and for the past two years, the group has planned Children and Youth in Care Day on May 14, a province-wide celebration with a goal to shed light on the issues children and youth in care face. Its annual Thanksgiving dinner and holiday reunion also allows youths in care and former youth in care to connect with other youths who are facing the same challenges. YouthSAID has also been involved in larger intra-agency events across Ontario, which has enabled them to have impact on amazing changes for youth across Ontario, including getting the government to provide financial support (100 per cent free tuition) for youths in AyA Kitchens of oAKville 1195 north service roAd west 905.847.1522 ayaoakville.com