Local senior being honoured for community contributions by province

The Ontario Senior Achievement Awards recognize 20 seniors each year for their contributions to communities across the province.

The awards are given out by the Minister for Seniors and Accessibility, Raymond Cho and Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Edith Dumont.

“Thank you for showing us that one is never too old to make a difference in the lives of others,” said Cho.

“They have given generously their wisdom and experience in making their communities, Canada and the world a better place to live.”

One of those seniors is from Waterloo Region, volunteering with a local charity called Strong Start. Strong Start first launched with its pilot program in 2001. It aims to help children in Ontario learn to read, helping any child that may be falling behind improve their literacy skills.

Howlett received the award for his volunteer work where he developed the charities website and volunteer portal which has helped thousands of children. Howlett was recognized for bringing his skills in technology together with the charity to improve their services.

In 2020, Strong Start introduced the Chris Howlett Award in recognition of his contributions.

Howlett’s most recent accomplishment was creating a volunteer information portal that connects trained volunteers with schools in need. When he first started working with the charity in 2010, they had already helped about 10,000 children improve their literacy. Since then that number has grown to over 56,000 children.

Howlett received his award during the ceremony that took place at Queen’s Park in Toronto Feb. 29 inside the Lieutenant Governor’s Suite.

The first Ontario Senior Achievement Awards ceremony took place back in 1986. It honours individuals aged 65 or older for their volunteer work and other contributions that benefitted the communities they live in.

“Together you have had a tremendous positive impact on just about every aspect of life in Ontario. You have helped conserve the environment and have improved the quality of life in cities and communities,” said Dumont during the ceremony.

By next year, the province is estimating the population of people 65-years or older will grow to 3 million people and become the fastest growing demographic group.