The Bob Ellis Fund was established in 2019 to honour of the extraordinary influence Bob Ellis has had on the lives of youth and young adults in downtown west Toronto over several generations.
Bob Ellis was a youth worker, lacrosse and basketball coach, program director, and eventually Board President at the House. He 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.
The funds were collected from donations through the St. Christopher House Community Endowment. The 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.
Thanks to the generous support of donors, we were able to provide $2500 scholarships to both recipients to support them on their academic paths. It is the first year the award was presented. We are so proud to announce Zahra Nur and Osama Filli (known as Filli) as the recipients of the Bob Ellis Award.
The award were presented at our Annual General Meeting. Bob’s wife Estelle Amaron and daughter Adrienne Ellis were in attendance to present the awards and spoke about the scholarship recipients.
Estelle presented the award to Filli. We included her speech below.
“It is my great honour to introduce Osama Filli to you. When I read his application, I was immediately struck with how his passion, his goals and his deep humanity were exactly the qualities that Bob admired and mentored in the many young people and adults he worked with over his long career. Filli has actively participated in West Neighbourhood House’s Adult Learning Program. Filli collaborated with program staff and his tutor to prepare for his academic journey as a mature student.”
“Filli is very excited to start the Law Clerk diploma program at Centennial College in September, which aligns with his long-term goal of becoming both a legal professional and a mental health advocate and eventually work helping people navigate the justice system – in his words – “with empathy and understanding”.
“It is with great pleasure that I present the Bob Ellis Scholarship Award to Osama Filli. On behalf of West Neighbourhood House and my beloved Bob, I wish you all the very best and much success as you start your journey towards making your goals a reality. “
Bob Ellis’ daughter Adrienne presented Zahra with the award, who was unable to attend the ceremony due to her high school graduation taking place during the same night.
“Every once in a while someone remarkable – brave, focused and strong – crosses your path. Zahra Nur is such a person. Zahra is a student at Parkdale Collegiate Institute High School and graduated today 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. 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. As a nurse she intends to go beyond the “science side” and ensure she is a nurse who really listens, builds trust and advocates for patients. She is excited to start her studies in September.”
“My Dad was a champion of young people, often seeing the potential in them before they saw it themselves. There is so much potential in Zahra and he would be honoured that Zahra, such a passionate and dedicated young woman, would be receiving this scholarship in his name and so, on behalf of West Neighbourhood House and Bob Ellis, I am very honoured to present Zahra with the Bob Ellis Scholarship Award and wish you much success as you start your education and career in nursing.”
It was truly 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 and happiness in their future goals.