31 people throughout B.C. and one group were honoured for their outstanding contributions to the well-being of their communities during the pandemic
VICTORIA – During the past year, people have struggled to keep their jobs, families have worked hard to make ends meet, businesses have grappled to survive, and kids have faced the challenges of new teaching methods and restricted interactions in cohorts. Despite these odds, a high school student Aditi Kinifrom Surrey has helped several affected communities through her mission to make a difference in her local community.
Kini has now become one of the 31 people from throughout B.C. and one group who are being honoured with the Medal of Good Citizenship, recognizing outstanding contributions to the well-being of their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. the 2021 Medal of Good Citizenship is focused on honouring people who have gone above and beyond expectations in their response to COVID-19. The recipients represent a diverse group of people from 21 communities, demonstrating that B.C. is full of people who generously give for the benefit of their communities.
The virtual medal presentation took place on Thursday, March 24, 2022.
“It was my honour to present theBCMedalofGoodCitizenship to Aditi Kini, who lives in Surrey Panorama and attends Seaquam Secondary School. Aditi received this award in recognition of her selflessness, her generosity and her outstanding contribution to not only local communities but also communities around the world.Thank you Aditi for all you have done to make this world a better place for so many. Congratulationsto Jagadeesh and Vidya KamatKini, Aditi’s parents,” said Jinny Sims, MLA Surrey Panorama.
In the past year, Kini has helped several affected communities impacted by COVID-19 through her implementation of 17 plus service-related projects raising around $50,000 to help hundreds of individuals and families in the Black, Indigenous and People of Colour community, Indigenous youth in Northern B.C., school districts, the SPCA, hospitals, homeless shelters and single moms across B.C. Furthermore, she started a sandwich making initiative at her school Seaquam Secondary, to provide meals for the homeless.
An example of her initiative is when she partnered with a local SPCA location to aid in their efforts to accommodate their increase of abandoned animals during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, she virtually mobilized a team of youth who worked tirelessly to purchase quality food alongside various other items and find suitable storage sheds to help prevent food wastage.
Kini learned that due to COVID-19, hospitals were not allowing visitors to see patients, impacting their mental health and recovery. To counteract this, she purchased, designed, packaged, and delivered entertainment packages consisting of puzzles, sudoku, word searches, amongst other things, to keep patients in the Royal Columbian Hospital happy and their minds engaged.
Kini has also set up a not-for-profit organization, “The New Horizons Foundation”. Her first global initiative was to raise funds to provide e-learning opportunities and basic sanitary supplies to 12 schools in Southern India to promote girls’ attendance in schools. She has built several networks with partner charitable organizations to support her post-pandemic cause, her biography provided by BC government mentioned.
In addition to the Medal of Good Citizenship, people may be nominated for the Province’s other honour, the Order of British Columbia, which recognizes those who have served with the greatest distinction and excelled in any field of endeavour. The deadline for nominations for the Order of B.C. this year is April 4, 2022.
