Nearly 20 years after its establishment, funding for a vital award for Grade 12 Gulf Islands Secondary School (GISS) students is in danger of being depleted, and organizers say that help for young leaders — and the legacy of a longtime Salt Spring Island human rights activist — needs to be preserved.
In 2007, after a lifetime spent fighting for human rights on Salt Spring and beyond, Jack Hallam created the Jack Hallam Human Rights Award through the Lambda Foundation — to ensure that GISS students who show leadership against homophobia, transphobia, racism and other intersecting forms of discrimination, including racism, ableism and colonial violence, were recognized and supported.
The award has been granted annually since 2007 and is currently valued at $1,000 per recipient. It is open to Grade 12 students at GISS who submit an essay, media project or demonstration of community activism that addresses the human rights of LGBTQ people and those who experience additional marginalization based on race, gender, class, disability or other factors. This year’s recipient, Lu McCarvill-Russo — a young queer leader from Salt Spring heading to UVic to become a teacher — embodies Hallam’s vision for a more just and inclusive world.
Today, the original funds have nearly run out. Lambda Scholarship Foundation Canada is looking to raise $30,000 to build a permanent fund so this award can continue to uplift local youth for generations to come, with a goal to increase the annual award from $1,000 to $2,000 to better reflect the impact and importance of the recipients’ leadership and commitment to justice.
To donate, see veritascharityservices.com/campaigns/jack-hallam-human-rights-award-at-gulf-islands-secondary-school/.