The Tidbits of Change Foundation has recognized three young Canadians for partnering with parents or mentors on projects that have made meaningful impacts in their communities. The foundation awards bursaries ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 to support recipients' post-secondary education goals while celebrating collaborative initiatives between youths and their mentors. Greg Scott, co-founder of the foundation, emphasized that all three of these collaborative initiatives have made a meaningful impact in their communities and noted how the projects have strengthened relationships between the youths and their mentors.
Amy Attalla of Fernie, B.C., received the 2025 Tidbits of Change Award for creating Sibshops Fernie, a non-profit organization providing peer support to siblings of children with special needs. Inspired by her own experience as a sibling and drawing on mentorship from her older sister Joy along with her parents' expertise in special education and camp leadership, Attalla developed workshops where siblings can connect and share experiences. Scott noted that Amy's initiative has had a remarkable impact on her community, demonstrating how personal experience combined with family mentorship can address specific community needs.
Sho Kagawa Brooks, now a student at Toronto Metropolitan University, received a Youth Inspiration Bursary Award presented by HEAD/Tyrolia for co-founding the Sea to Sky Student Short Film Festival. Brooks and his partners worked closely with a mentor from the Whistler Film Festival and their high school vice-principal to develop what has become a platform empowering student filmmakers. Scott observed that Sho saw an opportunity to create something meaningful, sought out mentorship to work with, and turned it into a platform that continues to inspire young storytellers, showing how educational mentorship can transform creative ideas into sustainable community programs.
Kaelyn Smith of Sherwood Park, Alta., now a student at Grant MacEwan University, received a Youth Inspiration Bursary Award presented by Kal Tire for partnering with her father to support people experiencing homelessness. They volunteered with organizations including The Mustard Seed, PAC Mission and Hope Mission, and plan to expand their efforts through a project focused on Skid Row in Los Angeles. This initiative demonstrates how family partnerships can extend community service beyond local boundaries and create lasting social impact through shared commitment to humanitarian causes.
The foundation hopes these efforts will inspire others to pursue their own passion projects through intergenerational collaboration, recognizing that mentorship relationships can amplify youth initiatives and create sustainable community change. More information about the foundation and its bursary program is available at https://tidbitsofchange.org. These awards highlight the importance of recognizing and supporting youth-led initiatives that leverage intergenerational knowledge and experience, creating models for how communities can foster meaningful collaboration between generations to address social needs and build stronger community networks.
