'They wanted to make a difference': Alberta teens receive national awards for volunteerism

A pair of Alberta teens have been recognized for their volunteer efforts on a national level.

Luke MacDonald, 14, and Marigold Mioc, 15, travelled to Toronto in May to attend the Future is Now! Awards hosted by Children First Canada.

In all, 10 teens from across the country were recognized for leadership on a variety of issues impacting young people today.

Mioc won the Safe Harbour Award for Preventing Violence and Abuse.

She has been volunteering for a number of causes since she was five years old but was recognized for her work with Gems for Gems, which helps domestic violence survivors support themselves and their children.

"Gems for Gems has an initiative called Hope's Cradle," she said.

"(Hope's Cradle is) basically an initiative that allows parents to anonymously surrender infants into safe arms, so they know their infant will be taken care of."

The Grade 9 student believes anyone can make a difference and the smallest differences make the biggest impacts.

"I truly believe what shapes someone as a person is their experiences and their learning," she said.

Lily Ahonen, Mioc's mom, says her daughter has always had a drive to help others.

"I volunteer regularly in my life, too, so with the kids, they've just kind of grown up with that as well as just being incorporated into their everyday life," she said.

Ahonen was impressed by what the young national winners have achieved and the impact they're making in their communities.

She says the winners all share similar passions for helping others and became friends quickly at the awards ceremony in Toronto.

"My daughter is actually already collaborating with a couple of people working on a project," she said.

"It's really exciting to see not only what they do alone but what they do together."

MacDonald won the Shake the Movers Award for Civic Engagement and Advocacy.

He was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes (T1D) at five years old and has raised thousands of dollars for research.

He helps other kids who are newly diagnosed to cope.

"It is a 24-7 disease. When I was first diagnosed, it was very scary," he said.

"I didn't know what was to come but as technology got better, I got more used to it. Things just got better and better living with it, so I'm just trying to make the lives of children with T1D better and letting them know things will get better."

The Grade 8 student says while technology makes managing his disease easier, costs make it prohibitive for some families and he wants to change that.

"The biggest thing I'm motivated for is Access for All, which is for kids who maybe don't have the best funding, to still get the best technology that you can have," he said.

"Now, there's a pump, I can give myself insulin from my phone, a continuous glucose monitor which sends my blood sugar to my phone so it's just way easier since I was first diagnosed."

Ryan MacDonald travelled to Toronto to watch his son receive the award and says it was a proud moment.

"It's a huge accomplishment for him early on. It just fills you with such a sense of pride," he said.

"But also with a sense that our country and our future is in good hands and it's just impressive to see what all of those 10 kids were doing right across the country."

He says the young winners should be an inspiration to all.

"Not one of those children that were there, certainly not our son, did any of the work that they did to receive an award," he said.

"They did it because something inspired them and they wanted to make a difference."

All the winners received $1,000 in prize money to go to a charity of their choice.

MacDonald's prize will go to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and Mioc is looking to start a scholarship with Gems for Gems in her name that will go to survivors of domestic violence.