Bob Ellis was a youth worker, lacrosse and basketball coach, program director, and eventually Board President at the House. Bob was also a key central organizer of many activities such as Connie’s Jam that kept former “St. Chris kids” together as a caring community.
In 2019, the Bob Ellis Fund was established in honour of the extraordinary influence Bob Ellis has had on the lives of youth and young adults in downtown west Toronto over several generations.
The Bob Ellis Award supports equity-deserving young people in their success in a post-secondary program specific to community development, social services, social work, physical education, or sports/recreation.
We are proud to announce Osama Filli and Zahra Nur as the inaugural winners of the Bob Ellis Award. The awards were presented to both at our recent Annual General Meeting in June.
Zahra is a student at Parkdale Collegiate Institute High School and graduated with honours. Zahra has lived in Saudi Arabia, Somalia and now Toronto where she has been an active participant in West Neighbourhood House’s Newcomer Youth Program. She also volunteers at a local food bank and the YMCA, where she supports newcomer youth like herself. Zahra is also a senior lead at her school’s Black Student Association, where she has played an important role in organizing the Black History Month events.
Building community has been integral to her development and appreciation of the value and importance of community. Zahra has been accepted into the nursing program at Toronto Metropolitan University and is very excited to get started. In addition to working to improve the health of patients, she also wanted to be an advocate for different groups such as newcomers, low-income families and those who face language barriers and other difficulties.
Osama Filli, or Filli as he is known, has been a participant in West Neighbourhood House’s Adult Learning Program. He has worked with program staff and his volunteer tutor, to prepare for his academic journey as a mature student. He is starting the Law Clerk diploma program at Centennial College in September.
Filli’s long-term goal is to become a legal professional and a mental health advocate. Filli hopes to find work helping those experiencing mental health issues navigate the justice system – in his words – “with empathy and understanding,” and without stigma and prejudice.
It was an honour to recognize Zahra and Filli for their extraordinary commitment to education and community-building. On behalf of West Neighbourhood House, we would like to wish them both success in their future academic goals.