Joy Evans - Smith Falls District Collegiate Institute, Upper Canada District School Board - 2010 Outstanding Youth Service Recipient

Joy Evans is a 17 year old, grade 12 student, from Jasper, Ontario. Her personal quest, to reach and encourage youth in her community to help those with not only local, but global needs, began at a very early age. When Joy was nine, she began her own charitable organization, Caring Coins from Canada, to raise money to assist the victims of 9/11. The media attention from her initiative encouraged further donations from the local community. At ten, she raised money to provide relief for those impacted by the Tsunami that devastated Indonesia.

The writing of a speech based on a young cancer patient was the impetus for Joy to rally her school mates to amass over 500 teddy bears for children being treated for cancer at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO). This undertaking further developed into Chores for CHEO, encouraging fellow students to raise money by completing home chores. In grade 9, Joy travelled to New Orleans to assist with rebuilding homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. In recognition of her many early efforts, Joy was awarded Ontario Junior Citizen of the Year.

Joy reaches out to her community not only as a fund raiser, but also as an advocate. In 2009, Joy was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. Many would see this as a negative, but Joy has decided to make it a positive and use it as an opportunity to help others who share the same struggle. Joy has developed a website and blog to connect with girls with Asperger’s, shares her insights and challenges by speaking to schools and youth groups, and is currently writing a book on Asperger’s called Sitting on the Fence.

Joy’s personal philosophy can be summed up as, “never allow what you can’t do, to keep you from what you can do”. This message truly resonates in both Joy’s deeds and words.

CONGRATULATIONS JOY!