CELEBRATING OTTAWA’S VOLUNTEERS
The VOscars Volunteer Awards
It’s time to submit your nominations! Nominate individuals and organizations for awards any time from March 7 to May 30. Keep reading to learn more.
The VOscars Volunteer Awards Gala is the highlight of the year for the city’s volunteers and non-profits. This beloved annual event celebrates Ottawa’s vibrant volunteer spirit and gives special recognition to those individuals, organizations, and businesses who have made a difference in the community.
Make a difference: nominate a deserving individual or organization between March 7 and May 30 for the 2025 VOscars Volunteer Awards!
The 2025 VOscars Volunteer Awards Gala will be on October 23, 2025 at the Preston Event Centre. Public nominations are being accepted from March 7 to May 30 for seven award categories.
“Volunteerism [is] about acknowledging that none of us achieve anything alone. It’s about recognizing that we are all part of something bigger, and that when we contribute to the lives of others, we enrich our own in ways we cannot measure.”
— Bharat Rudra, recipient of the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award, at the 2024 VOscars Volunteer Awards Gala
Sarah Onyango (2023 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient) and Bharat Rudra (2024 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient) at the 2024 VOscars Volunteer Awards Gala.
Become a Sponsor for the 2025 VOscars Awards
Every year, Ottawa’s business community showcases its support for local volunteers and not-for-profits at the VOscars Gala. There are many sponsorship options — get in touch to decide the best way to for your organization to share the spotlight and show your support for volunteerism in Ottawa!
Connect with us at [email protected] to talk, or view the 2025 Sponsorship Package online.
Announcing the 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient:
Sam Laprade, CFRE
Previous Lifetime Achievement Award Winners
2024 – Bharat Rudra
2023 – Sarah Onyango
2022 – Marc Jolicoeur
2020/1 – Jacquelin Holzman
2019 – Dennis Jackson
2018 – James McCracken
2017 – Dave Smith
2016 – Coralie Lalonde
2015 – Jim Durrell
2014 – Barbara McInnes
2013 – Grete Hale
2012 – Lawrence Greenspon
2011 – Max Keeping
Sam Laprade is one of Ottawa’s best-loved and most visible volunteers. For over 30 years, she has blended her career in fundraising, broadcasting and municipal politics with giving back to the community in a multitude of ways.
More than anything, Sam loves to connect people and over the past three decades, she’s created a remarkable network of community and business leaders. She has emceed more galas than she can count and motivated 1000s as an inspirational speaker. She charms everyone she meets with her special blend of humour, insight, and deep compassion.
Sam is a proud volunteer for numerous organizations including Big Brothers Big Sisters Ottawa, the Children’s Aid Foundation of Ottawa, the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Caldwell Family Centre, Harmony House, Volunteer Ottawa, the Capital City Condors and Elevate International.
As the originator and host of “An Hour to Give” on Rogers TV Ottawa and Country 101.1, Sam has given voice to new ideas, tough topics, and philanthropy, creating a unique space for local charities to share their stories and shine a light on causes that matter.
As a professional fundraiser, Sam Laprade has raised millions of dollars for community organizations that include: The Ottawa Hospital Foundation, the Ottawa Humane Society, and the Ottawa Mission Foundation. Since 2017, she’s worked as a full-time strategist with Gryphon Fundraising providing data analytical reports, fundraising plans, cases for support and leading board engagement.
Sam’s most recent gift to the community is a co-authored book featuring local inventors and creators called Ottawa Made, published in February 2025. This timely collection showcases the brilliant and brave change-makers from Ottawa and the Valley.
Sam Laprade is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE), and a proud graduate of Algonquin College’s public relations program. She was awarded the college’s Creative Arts Alumni of Distinction Award in 2022 and received the Order of Ottawa in 2023 for her work in the Capital.
Sam is Mom to her daughter, Avery.
Nominate Now: 2025 Award Categories
Nominations are now open! Submit your nominations for the 2025 VOscars Volunteer Awards. Read the criteria to choose the appropriate award for your nomination. Fill in the form in English or French to submit your nomination.
Finalists and winners will be selected on the strength of your nomination, so be sure to include details on why they are being nominated. Nominees cannot have won a VOscars Award in the previous 2 years.
If a candidate is eligible for nomination in multiple categories, feel free to submit a nomination for them in each. VO reserves the right to move nominees to a different award category if it is a better fit. Individuals and organizations are welcome to nominate themselves.
Volunteers and organizations in rural areas served by Volunteer Ottawa are welcome to participate in the VOscars Volunteer Awards along with urban residents. In addition to the City of Ottawa, Volunteer Ottawa serves the following areas: Gatineau, Lanark, Prescott, Russell, Renfrew, Stormont, Dundas, Glengarry. If you are located near Ottawa and not served by another volunteer centre, you are welcome to participate.
During the nomination period, members of the public are invited to submit nominations for the seven award categories. Nominations will be reviewed by a committee of the VO Board of Directors and local leaders in the non-profit space. Three finalists will be selected in each category and announced in August 2025. All finalists will receive a complimentary ticket to the Awards Gala on October 23 and be eligible to purchase additional tickets at a reduced price. Winners will be announced live during the Gala.
2024 Winners
Lifetime Achievement Award: Bharat Rudra
Mayor’s Award for Volunteer Spirit: Wayne French
Outstanding Youth Volunteer: Sarah Acharya
Outstanding Older Adult Volunteer: Caroline Wilcox
Leadership in Skilled Volunteering: Diana Official
Leadership in Corporate Volunteerism: Adobe Canada
Pathway to Possibilities Award: Foodsharing Ottawa
Outstanding Volunteer Program: Connected Canadians / Canadiens Branchés
2023 Winners
Lifetime Achievement Award: Sarah Onyango
Mayor’s Award for Volunteer Spirit: Elizabeth Heatherington
Outstanding Youth Volunteer Award: Rae Landriau
Outstanding Senior Volunteer Award: Shirley Whitford
Leadership in Skilled Volunteering Award: John Peters
Leadership in Corporate Volunteerism Award: Engineers Canada
Pathway to Possibilities Award: Nerio Guerrero and Jennifer Hughes Doucet, CCI Ottawa Conversation Circles volunteers
Outstanding Volunteer Program Award: Hospice Care Ottawa
Award Description and Criteria
Read the criteria, then click the “Submit Nomination for This Award” button to start your nomination.
Outstanding Youth Volunteer Award
Award for: Individuals
The Outstanding Youth Volunteer Award celebrates an Ottawa youth who has made a significant contribution to their community through volunteering.
Eligibility:
- An individual between 15 and 24 years old
- Has volunteered for at least 2 years
Outstanding Older Adult Volunteer Award
Award for: Individuals
The Outstanding Older Adult Volunteer Award is given to an older adult volunteer who has made a meaningful impact in the community through their volunteering.
Eligibility:
- An individual 55 years of age or older
- Dedicates a significant amount of time to volunteering on a regular basis
Leadership in Skilled Volunteering Award
Award for: Individuals
The Leadership in Skilled Volunteering Award is given to someone who regularly volunteers in a position that uses their professional skills. For example, an accountant who assists with yearly tax clinics, a carpenter who helps increase accessibility in Ottawa by building and installing ramps, or a communications specialist who designs outreach campaigns.
Eligibility:
- An individual using their professional skills to provide leadership and support volunteerism in their community
- Has volunteered for 5 or more years
- Must be established in their field by a certification, accreditation, designation or peer recognition
Mayor’s Award for Volunteer Spirit
Award for: Individuals
This prestigious award is given to an individual who exemplifies the spirit of volunteering in Ottawa through their significant community impact. This keystone award celebrates exemplary volunteering above and beyond the other categories. Nominations in this category must demonstrate significant time and/or impact to the nominee’s community through volunteering.
Eligibility:
- The Major’s Award for Volunteer Spirit is given to an individual who exemplifies the spirit of volunteering in Ottawa
- Dedicates significant time volunteering on a regular basis, or has otherwise made a significant impact through their volunteer work
- Promotes volunteering in the community by inspiring and supporting others to share their time
Leadership in Corporate Volunteerism Award
Award for: Organizations (business, corporation, employer)
The Leadership in Corporate Volunteerism Award celebrates Ottawa businesses and employers who give back to the community by supporting employee volunteering. The winner will have a comprehensive, successful employee engagement program to encourage employees to volunteer and give back to the community.
Eligibility:
- A business or employer located in Ottawa region, or whose head office is in Ottawa
- Contributes the company’s resources by donating time and talent
- Minimum 10 employees engaged in volunteering
Pathways to Possibilities Award
Award for: Organizations (charities and non-profits)
The Pathways to Possibilities Award celebrates an organization committed to making volunteering inclusive, equitable, and welcoming. The award recognizes those who have reduced barriers to volunteering (including volunteer roles on boards of directors) with thoughtful approaches to recruitment, screening, training, communication, and/or accommodations, to ensure volunteering can be a pathway to possibility for everyone.
Eligibility:
- A charity or non-profit organization located in the Ottawa region
- Actively seeks to create volunteering pathways that are inclusive and accessible to anyone who wishes to share their time and talent with the community
- Able to provide examples, stories and/or data that demonstrate how barriers and impediments to being a volunteer have been reduced or removed for youth, newcomers, seniors, persons with disabilities, vulnerable populations and/or equity-deserving individuals
Outstanding Volunteer Program Award
Award for: Organizations (charities and non-profits)
The Outstanding Volunteer Program Award is given to an organization in the Ottawa region that has built a successful, thriving volunteer program based on excellence in volunteer management principles and practices. Nomination for this award is open to all Ottawa-region nonprofits and charities.
Eligibility:
- Non-profit or charity in Ottawa region that has built an outstanding volunteer program based on effective volunteer management principles and practices
- Recruits, engages, and manages a minimum of 25 volunteers annually
About the 2024 Awards
The 2024 VOscars Volunteer Awards Gala took place on October 24, 2024 at the Preston Event Centre. Over 260 people gathered to recognize the amazing volunteers who, “…improve lives, break down barriers and create opportunities for people across our city” (Geoff Simpson, CFO, Hydro Ottawa at the 2022 VOscars). Click here to see photos from the 2024 event and watch the awards ceremony online, courtesy of Rogers TV Podium. Thank you to everyone who submitted a nomination, to all our amazing sponsors, and of course — thank you to all the volunteers helping to build community in Ottawa!
2024 Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient: Bharat Rudra
Bharat Rudra is the 2024 recipient of Volunteer Ottawa’s Lifetime Achievement Award, a prestigious honour recognizing his over 35 years of impactful and wide-ranging community service.
2024 VOscars Winners and Finalists
Mayor’s Award for Volunteer Spirit: Wayne French
Finalists:
- Parmod Chhabra
- Karyl Jaanusson
Outstanding Older Adult Volunteer: Caroline Wilcox
Finalists:
- Joan Coulter
- George Thwaites
Leadership in Corporate Volunteerism: Adobe Canada
Finalists:
- Ciena Ottawa
- OXARO Inc.
Outstanding Volunteer Program: Connected Canadians / Canadiens Branchés
Finalists:
- Pinecrest-Queensway Community Health Centre
- Shelter Movers Ottawa
Outstanding Youth Volunteer: Sarah Acharya
Finalists:
- Kaitlin Bertin
- Avery Laprade
Leadership in Skilled Volunteering: Diana Official
Finalists:
- Megan Bloskie
- George E. C. Macdonald
Pathway to Possibilities Award: Foodsharing Ottawa
Finalists:
- Helping With Furniture
- Jaku Konbit
Thank you to our 2024 sponsors
Presenting sponsor: Export Development Canada
Lifetime Achievement Award Sponsor: OakWood
Welcome Reception sponsor: Carleton University
Media Sponsor: Rogers
Entertainment Sponsor: Accenture
Dessert Sponsor: HydroOttawa
Mayor’s Award for Volunteer Spirit Sponsor: Algonquin College
Outstanding Older Adult Volunteer Award Sponsor: The Ottawa Branch of the National Association of Federal Retirees
Leadership in Skilled Volunteering Award Sponsor: Perley‑Robertson, Hill & McDougall LLP/s.r.l.
Outstanding Volunteer Program Award Sponsor: YellowTree Grant Services
Supporting Sponsors:
Dentons
HeartFelt IT
JustServe