Six Canadians named among outstanding youth volunteers around the world

TORONTO, Feb. 27, 2013 /CNW/ - They serve food, assist the elderly, mentor youth, and coordinate sporting events. With a passion to make a difference in their communities, 12 youth, six from Canada and six from international locations where Scotiabank has operations, have today been named the inaugural winners of the Scotiabank Bright Future Young Leaders Award. As winners, each will be invited to direct a CAD$2500 Scotiabank donation, in their name, to a charity of their choice and will also receive a tablet computer.

"It gives me great pleasure to recognize and celebrate the outstanding community service of our first Bright Future Young Leaders Award recipients," said Sylvia Chrominska, Group Head, Global Human Resources and Communications, Scotiabank. "These young people represent the next generation of community leaders and remind us of the essential role of volunteers to the long term operation of charitable organizations. For more than 180 years, Scotiabank employees have been supporting the unique needs of each community we serve. It is exciting to have youth from these communities join us in building on this tradition of creating bright futures - one community at a time."

Scotiabank congratulates the following winners:
Estelle Ah-Kiow, 17, Mississauga, Ontario
Collis Augustine, 23, Georgetown, Guyana
Jhoenea Bremmer, 24, Little London, Westmoreland, Jamaica
Jerome Cowans, 22, Kingston, Jamaica
Kirsti Creaser, 19, Kamloops, British Columbia
Nick Davies, 17, Hamilton, Ontario
Mercy Muhoza, 20, Toronto, Ontario
Simon Murillo, 23, Vina del Mar, Valparaiso, Chile
Celeste Peterka, 18, Ottawa, Ontario
Yoisa Elvira Perez Guajardo, 23, Ralco, Bio Bio, Chile
Maria Luisa Serrano-Carvallo, 17, Santiago, Chile
Anthony Vo, 22, Ottawa, Ontario

Winners of the 2012 Bright Future Young Leaders Award were required to reside in a participating country, complete 100 hours of volunteerism in a minimum of three of the Bank's six philanthropic pillars and submit an essay describing the impact of their volunteerism on charitable organizations, their community and themselves. Full award program details can be found at www.scotiayoungleaders.com.

Essays were reviewed by an international panel of jurors comprised of Veronica Lacey O.C., former President and CEO of The Learning Partnership; Tessa Bonhomme, Olympic & World Champion, Ice Hockey - Canada; Dr. Rosalea Hamilton, Scotiabank Chair, Entrepreneurship and Development at the University of Technology in Jamaica; Jatnna Tavarez, President of Jatnna Productions in the Dominican Republic; and, Sue Graham Parker, Executive Vice President of Global Human Resources for Scotiabank.

Countries participating in the first year of the program included Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, the British Virgin Islands, Canada, the Cayman Islands, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Commenting on the program, Canadian juror, Ms. Lacey said, "I was very impressed by the passion and commitment of each of the applicants. Their volunteerism has made an important impact on each of their communities - and on their own lives. It was a pleasure to review the submissions and I congratulate each applicant on the important contributions they are making. Through giving back, each has learned, grown and enriched the lives of others. There can be no better reward for service."

The Scotiabank Bright Future program is the Bank's global philanthropic program which brings together all of the Bank's charitable, social and community efforts and employee volunteer activities under one banner. Through the Bright Future program, the Bank's charitable efforts are aimed at being relevant and responsive to the needs of each community at a grassroots level and provide support across the fields of health, arts, education, social services, sports and the environment. In the Caribbean, Latin and Central America, the Bright Future program focuses primarily on children and children's causes.

About Scotiabank:
Scotiabank is committed to supporting the communities in which we live and work, both in Canada and abroad, through our global philanthropic program, Scotiabank Bright Future.  Recognized as a leader internationally and among Canadian corporations for our charitable donations and philanthropic activities, Scotiabank has provided on average approximately $47 million annually to community causes around the world over each of the last five years. Visit us at www.scotiabank.com.

SOURCE: Scotiabank