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Louis St-Cyr shares his experiences as a volunteer and what receiving the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers has meant to him.

[Screen Description: Text on a grey background reads, “Canadian Honours, Louis St-Cyr, Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers.” There is a viceregal lion above the text.]

[Screen Description: Several words characterizing honours recipients move across a black screen. The screen reads, “Canadian honours presented by the Governor General”.]

[Screen Description: Louis St-Cyr is sitting and speaking to the camera. The screen reads, “Louis St-Cyr, Cantley, Quebec, Recipient of the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers”.]

[Louis St-Cyr:] There are two verbs I like to use: to love and to help.

What led me to take my first humanitarian trip?

I think it was a little bit of curiosity, to see how people lived elsewhere.

My first trip was to Guatemala.

We built the second and third floors of a school.

I took a liking to it immediately.

I went to El Salvador five times.

We built a residence for sick people.

After that, I went to the Dominican Republic to build a youth centre.

Eighty percent of people who go there are not necessarily skilled tradespersons.

And when someone has a trade, their skills are in high demand.

They are promoted to foreman automatically, even if they can’t speak Spanish.

These humanitarian trips gave me a new vision of the world, I grow as a person, each time I go.

And today, that work led me to do volunteer work with an organization called "L'Amicale des personnes handicapées physiques de l'Outaouais."

[Screen Description: Throughout the video, the screen alternates between Mr. St-Cyr, Mr. de Bellefeuille, and a series of scenes featuring Mr. St-Cyr participating in volunteer work, including building homes and working with people with disabilities at L’Amicale des personnes handicapées physiques de l’Outaouais.]

[Screen Description: Mr. Jacques de Bellefeuille is sitting and speaking to the camera. The screen reads, “Jacques de Bellefeuille, Managing Director of L’Amicale.”]

[Jacques de Bellefeuille:] We are a drop-in centre for people who are physically disabled.

It provides a place for people to come together, to alleviate their isolation, to join in and to achieve their potential.

[Louis St-Cyr:] The first time I went to the centre, it was to fix a leaky faucet for free.

When I saw the condition of the faucet and the kitchen sink, I said to myself, "There's no way to fix that faucet."

So I changed it and the sink as well.

[Jacques de Bellefeuille:] That's how it started. Louis has never stopped.

[Louis St-Cyr:] Then I thought, why not fix the tiles?

After, I renovated the large common room.

I renovated the two bathrooms, and adapted them for their needs.

[Jacques de Bellefeuille:] In an organization like ours, our budgets for renovations or for improving the physical spaces are very limited.

Louis grasped L'Amicale’s mission and folded it under his wings.

[Louis St-Cyr:] So now, for the last two years, I've been the chairperson of L'Amicale.

[Jacques de Bellefeuille:] He has such a big heart.

[Louis St-Cyr:] The impact of receiving this award, of receiving the Sovereign's Medal, is that it can give people the incentive to do the same, to make a small gesture, to give a little bit to society, and to the community...

It gives me personal satisfaction and it's fulfilling.

I love it.

[Screen Description: Text on a grey background reads, “The Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers pays tribute each year to the dedication, passion and extraordinary commitment of volunteers who embody the caring country we aspire to build. gg.ca/honours” There is a Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers above the text.]

[Screen Description: A viceregal lion on a grey background.]

[Screen Description: Text on a grey background reads, “Canadian Honours, Nancy and Robert Campana, Meritorious Service Medal (Civil Division).” There is a viceregal lion above the text.]

[Screen Description: Several words characterizing honours recipients move across a black screen. The screen reads, “Canadian honours presented by the Governor General”.]

[Screen Description: Nancy and Robert Campana are sitting next to each other. They take turns speaking to the camera. The screen reads, “Nancy and Robert Campana, Windsor, Ontario, recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (Civil Division)”.]

[Robert Campana:] Rocky had friends that...It upset him that they—they never could tell their parents who they were because they were worried about being removed from the house.

But our home was always a safe place for all his friends.

[Nancy Campana:] We lost our son Rocky in 2012, August of 2012.

Rocky attempted to take his own life and then he lived for two days and...

Rocky was always very much an advocate in the LGBTQ community.

He was a gay young man and he came out when he was 17.

Rocky had big plans for the work he wanted to do.

He had talked to me about the work he wanted to do within gay-straight alliances.

There wasn't a GSA available to Rocky when he was in school, but we know he would have been the GSA leader.

We knew when Rocky passed away we wanted to continue his work.

And we did that through partnering with the Windsor Pride Community here, and starting the Run for Rocky.

[Robert Campana:] It's a 5-kilometre run.

We made it a family event.

You didn't have to be a runner, you could walk.

It was more to bring people together and to get the message across, what we were doing.

[Nancy Campana:] The Run for Rocky Event took place for five years.

And through that event, we were able to raise $270,000.

The first thing is that we provide grants to gay-straight alliances within the schools.

We also fund ongoing events, scholarships, education for parents.

All of the Run for Rocky funding is around education because we feel that education is empowerment.

[Screen Description: Malachi Malabre is standing outside and speaking to the camera. The screen reads, “Malachi Malabre, former president, Riverside GSA.” There is a body of water and large bridge behind him.]

[Malachi Malabre:] When I first came out, I joined my school's GSA and I was referred to the Run for Rocky by one of my teachers.

And they helped fund my GSA, they helped fund everything that we wanted to do.

[Screen Description: Throughout the video, the screen alternates between Mr. and Ms. Campana, Mr. Malabre, and a series of scenes featuring the Run For Rocky, the office of the Windsor Pride Community, and the city of Windsor, Ontario.]

[Nancy Campana:] The goal of the project was to make Windsor a safer and friendlier space for LGBTQ people.

[Malachi Malabre:] I see now a lot more diversity, a lot more people who are open and comfortable, and feel safe to be able to be themselves.

[Robert Campana:] The Meritorious Award that we received was a wonderful honour and really a surprise to both of us.

And it's just not an award for Nancy and I, it's an award for our whole community, who wrapped their arms around us and believed in what we were doing, and rallied around us.

[Nancy Campana:] That award just gave Windsor more recognition for the diverse community it's become.

[Screen Description: Text on a grey background reads, “The Meritorious Service Decorations (Civil Division) recognize remarkable individuals who bring honour to our country through their exceptional deeds in many different fields. gg.ca/honours.” There is a Meritorious Service Medal and Cross above the text.]

[Screen Description: A viceregal lion on a grey background.]