| National Child and Youth Care Award 2002 |
| Attached are testimonials from Lori's co-workers, employees whom she supervises, parents, and young people. They speak for themselves. |
| Lori has been a youth care worker for almost nine years. During that time, she has worked exclusively with the St. Francis Foundation in St. John's. |
| .....I have known Lori Leonard for over 2 years now. When I first met Lori I was pretty mad at the world. But Lori worked with me and my Mom and now things are just great! I am getting all As and Bs in school now and I never miss even one day of school. My Mom always liked and respected Lori and told me I should listen to her and I tried to. I think I learned a lot from Lori. And Lori is really good with other kids. And when she told your to do something you usually did it but not because you were afraid of her. You did it because you respected her. Lori also has a good sense of humor and that is real important to me. It makes life easier. I don't think I every told Lori I liked her but I do and I'm glad I met her. |
| Lori is amazing! Everything she does is focused on the young people and what is in their best interests. She never deviates from this and is very vocal with regard to identifying the needs of young people and advocating on their behalf. On top of this, she has excellent intervention skills, a great sense of humor, and an impeccable work ethic. Lori also uses her personal talents and skills in her work with the young people. These include carpentry and painting - there are no delays in getting holes fixed in the walls when Lori is around, and all of the young people she works with leave the program with some very useful life skills! |
| I should like, at this time, to write a few words of appreciation of the work that Lori Leonard has done with my sixteen year old son, during the last two years. During this time Lori has consistently shown me that she has a genuine deep love and appreciation for young people. Her concern goes far beyond a 9-5 job. I have seen her with many young people during these two years, and she has approached each and every one of them equally with great respect, consideration, patience and enthusiasm. There had to have been a myriad of times that Lori was truly exhausted with the immensity of her job, and, yet, I can honestly say that I never, ever saw her express or show negativity towards anyone. Lori taught my son many valuable lessons, but she also taught me many as well, through her fine example of warmth, dedication, professionalism, humor and heart. The irony here in trying to write words to express my feelings of gratitude towards Lori Leonard is that there really are no words adequate enough to describe someone such as Lori. It has truly been an honour and a privilege to have gotten to know here. |
| Lori is also somewhat of a pioneer. She is always looking for innovative and creative ideas, and open to trying new approaches. When our organization switched to a more "family centered" approach, Lori was one of the first staff to jump on board, and has now developed skills in this area that parallel her skills with young people. |
| a young person |
| In April 2001, Lori was promoted to a management position within the St. Francis Foundation. She is now the coordinator for two residential programs, a group home and an independence training program. Lori has assumed the position of coordinator with the same level of commitment and responsibility that she demonstrated as a front-line youth care worker. At the same time that she was promoted, Lori made the decision to return to school, and is now in her second year of the Child and Youth Care degree program at the University of Victoria. Although Lori is one of the most skilled and knowledgeable employees in the organization, she continues to learn more and never stops trying to do better - this is what makes her so valuable! |
| Lori is also a member of the Child and Youth Association of Newfoundland and Labrador, and has been actively involved in the planning of the 12th National Child and Youth Care Conference as a member of the hospitality and steering committees. |
| Lori is a youth care worker and proud of it. She is always talking about how much she loves her job, and she means it - and not just during the easy times. Lori is an inspiration to those around her and a credit to the field. She is truly deserving of the national young care worker award. |
| Jackie Kelly |
| Hi, |
| We have a son....who was 14 years old, when he went to St. Francis Group Home. This is where we first met Lori Leonard. |
| We found Lori to be very friendly and helpful. Lori has a great lot of patience and has fantastic listening skills. |
| Lori is a great youth worker and is dependable and honest and she takes great pride in her work. We have seen the way Lori handles some of the other children, and realize how much respect the children have for her. Our son is 17 now, and at least once a month she will call here (Phone) and have a chat. A few times they went for a coffee, our son says its easy to talk to Lori, because he said she listens, and don't judge him. |
| We have had the opportunity to meet with Lori on several occasions and we truly believe she has the characteristics of a great youth worker and leader |
| Lori is nice. |
| The first day I had my drivers Permit Lori took me driving (so she got guts). Now I have my license. |
|
| Lori took good care of me when I was in care. When we went on Key Work I could always talk to her. |
| I think Lori is a good worker with youth like me. |
| We believe Lori is a very beautiful person and she tries to do her best at everything she sets out to do. |
| a young person |
| To sum up a letter like this, you must know that after knowing Lori for 3 years now, we think Lori is quite an asset to the profession she's chosen, and a gigantic asset to her employer, The St. Francis Foundation. |
| We know what a great asset Lori is to the children and their parents. |
| May God follow and help Lori as she continues to help others. |
| Yours with great respect, parents |
| These pages were published by Garth Goodwin with the assistance of the Child and Youth Care Workers Association of Manitoba for the purpose of informing and promoting communications among member child and youth care practitioners. This page was last up-dated December 31, 2004 |
| CCCYCA © 2002-2005 Garth Goodwin, All rights reserved. |
| a parent |