A Manitoulin Island woman is one of eight recipients to receive the newly created Public Health Hero Award from Public Health Sudbury & Districts.
Medical Officer of Health and CEO, Dr. Penny Sutcliffe says the heroes put public health into action and make tangible, positive differences in their communities.
Kristin Bickell of Manitoulin is one of them having coordinated the planning of 17 community gardens in 11 communities as well as facilitating the construction of over 150 home gardens for Islanders.
Sutcliffe adds, “It is our privilege to honour people and organizations in our communities for their efforts to make their neighbourhoods or workplaces healthier and to promote and protect health and prevent disease for everyone.”
Public Health Heroes demonstrate humility, trust, and respect, and foster opportunities for health for all.
The Public Health Heroes for fall 2019 include Bickell and:
Joanne Dubé: for providing low-cost chair yoga and low-impact activities to the citizens of French River.
Marisue James: for engaging with the community to coordinate low-cost recreational opportunities so that everyone has an opportunity to learn about and play sports in Greater Sudbury.
Alexander’s Knitting and Crocheting Circle: for making over 500 hats to help parents understand the frustrating—but normal—period of increased crying most infants go through.
Action Sudbury, Citizens Against Impaired Driving: for implementing activities over the last 35 years to reduce injuries and fatalities on local roads in Greater Sudbury and surrounding areas.
Bike Sudbury / Vélo Sudbury: for being a voice for safe cycling for people of all ages and abilities, and for continuing to strive to build a strong cycling culture.
Employees at Costco (Sudbury): for supporting vulnerable families in Public Health’s Healthy Babies Healthy Children program during the holiday season by collecting various items to donate and by supplying food.
Diane Hayes: for knitting more than 1100 hats over the last five years for newborns in our community, including hats for Public Health Sudbury & Districts’ Period of Purple Crying
Public Health Hero award recipients are nominated in the spring and fall and are selected based on their actions to make a health-enhancing difference in their local community and efforts that align with the agency’s vision of Healthier Communities for All.
Public Health Hero award recipients will be profiled over the coming months on Public Health Sudbury & Districts’ Facebook page and Twitter account.
For more information about the Public Health Hero recognition program, call Public Health Sudbury & Districts at 705.522.9200, ext. 345 (toll-free 1.866.522.9200).