Peace Medallion winners find ways to help others continued from p.11 Vishal and Ishan Vijay, the founders of EveryChildNow, received a YMCA Peace Medallion in the group category for the work they do in advocating for children's rights. Since 2012, they have empowered more than 850 children through various campaigns: fundraised for clean water in India; organized Oakville youths to build 4,000 household protection kits to send to West Africa; and collected more than 25,000 school, food and clothing items for children in Canada and abroad. The boys shared how seeing extreme poverty in India years ago didn't sit well with them. "Meeting children there and hearing their stories, that was what made us realize we couldn't just return to Canada and live our daily lives, we had to do something. The best way to do something was with our community," said Ishan, 13, who attends Fern Hill School. They gathered three friends and formed EveryChildNow, which has grown to include a network of 70 youths from 20 different schools across the GTA. "We hope you'll join us in our current national campaign to lend a helping hand to the children refugees coming to Canada," said Vishal, 14, who attends Oakville Trafalgar High School. "We're assembling care packages and welcome packages so they can come to Canada, return to school and realize how great of a country Canada is." The adult YMCA Peace Medallion recipient children could attend school," read Mendes. In January 2016, a Christian School of Hope will open. There will be preschool and Kindergarten classes before expanding to include up to Grade 12. She thanked everyone for allowing her to share her passion. The peace breakfast also featured keynote speaker Zak Ebrahim, who shared his personal story of how he chose a path to peace and performances by Hollywood Jade, Irvin Washington and Samara Tong, on behalf of ArtHouse, and Tess Buckley. YMCA Community Breakfast for Peace awarded the 2015 YMCA Peace Medallion to Vishal and Ishan Vijay, of EveryChildNow, as the group winner. | photo by Riziero Vertolli Oakville Beaver 15 | Friday, November 20, 2015 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com was Linda Coghlin, who founded Loving Arms, an organization that transforms the lives of families in Guatemala by creating incomegenerating opportunities to enable self-sufficiency and providing programs to meet basic needs. Unable to attend because she had flu, her words were expressed through Mary Jane Mendes. The speech explained the work Loving Arms does, including helping migrant workers obtain temporary work in Canada. "These people are hard workers and were able to save money to send to their families. Before leaving Guatemala, many of them stated their goal was to earn enough money to ensure the North AmericA GrANite Quartz · Granite · Marble Kitchen & Bath Countertops Visit our Oakville showroom! 1111 North Service Road East 905-338-6686 www.nagranite.ca IT'S GROW TIME. GOOD TO GROW HIGH INTEREST SAVINGS ACCOUNT. No monthly fees. No minimums. No worries. EARN 1.50%. COMPARE OUR RATE* Meridian BMO TD CIBC RBC PC Financial Tangerine Scotiabank FLU SHOTS Walk-In Clinic HealthSense Medical When you need healthcare fast: Short wait Stay Healthy. Walk-in & times get your Flu Shot Short wait times Convenient location at WestOak Trails Plaza Convenient location at Westoak Trails Plaza Great hours weekdays 8:30am to 8:30pm 8:30pm 8:30pm *Please arrive by 7pm for your flu shot. Pharmacy onsite 1.50% 0.50% 0.55% 0.65% 0.65% 0.80% 0.80% 0.90% Rates are as of September 14, 2015.* Short wait times! 905-825-DOCS (3627) 2983 Westoak Trails Blvd South of Dundas, at Bronte Rd info@healthsensemedical.ca www.healthsensemedical.ca Start saving more at growtime.ca HOURS Mon - Fri 8:30am to 8:00pm Saturday 9:00am to 2:00pm Clarkson Branch 970 Southdown Road | 905-855-0951 *Based on a direct comparison of Meridian's featured Good To Grow High Interest Savings Account against the competition's posted rates for balances at $5,000 for the most comparable offering posted online on their respective websites, as of September 14, 2015. 1.50% interest is calculated on the closing daily balance and is paid monthly. The rate shown is on an annualized basis and is subject to change without notice. TMTrademarks of Meridian Credit Union Limited. 09/2015 Family Doctors · Walk-In Clinic Chiropractic · Pharmacy · Travel Clinic