Dilico Anishinabek Family Care to empower and celebrate children through Step Up Kids Awards
By Rick Garrick
THUNDER BAY — Dilico Anishinabek Family Care launched its 2025 Step Up campaign with performances by two previous Step Up Kids Awards recipients on Oct. 3 at the Co.Lab Gallery in Thunder Bay.
“If you believe in a child, you don’t just change their days, you change their whole future,” says Audrey Sawchyn, assistant director of child welfare at Dilico. “That’s really what today is really about; it’s about believing in our kids, empowering them, and celebrating the incredible ways they make our communities better.”
Sawchyn says Dilico has led the Step Up campaign for more than 15 years during the month of October.
“What began as a call to prevent child abuse has grown into an initiative about recognition, empowerment, and celebration,” Sawchyn says. “Everywhere we look, kids are making a difference. Step Up is about noticing these moments, sharing them, and celebrating them; it’s about reminding kids that their actions matter, their voice matters, and most importantly, that they matter.”
Sawchyn says they relaunched the Step Up Kids Awards last year by “recognizing 10 incredible kids” from across northwestern Ontario.
“Their stories of kindness, leadership, creativity reminded us of how powerful young people really are,” Sawchyn says. “Today, we are celebrating the start of the 2025 campaign with something brand new, the See It, Share It, Celebrate It campaign. Today, we open up our gallery to the public, starting today through Sunday, and it showcases last year’s 2024 Step Up Awards recipients.”
Fort William’s Brentley Collins, a traditional grass dancer and drummer who proudly shares his First Nation culture and teachings, and Jocelyn Schaff, a young vocalist and pianist who has starred in major local productions, shared how the Step Up campaign has been a part of their lives during the campaign launch.
“It was pretty fun to get recognized for my singing, drumming, and dancing,” says Collins, who was the head grass dancer at Fort William’s 10th Annual Fall Traditional Gathering on Sept. 30. “It was really fun to be the head dancer.”
Collins says his mother took him to his first pow wow when he was about two or three years old.
“It was really interesting to see that, so I wanted to get into it,” Collins says. “I started drumming when I was around three or four. My mom and my stepdad went to the Spirit World, so that’s why I sing for them.”
Schaff says it was an incredible honour to be recognized with one of the Step Up Kids Awards last year.
“It made me feel so seen and appreciated,” says Schaff, who began doing her music about four years ago. “I was singing from a very young age, and my mom decided to put me in it and I’m so thankful that she does. I do plays and competitions. I went to Niagara Falls for a competition and this year I’m going to Toronto. It was so fun [at the Niagara Falls competition], everyone there is so talented.”
The 2025 Step Up Kids Awards will be held on Nov. 14 during the Dilico Community Pow Wow, with 10 children to be recognized as helpers, leaders, dreamers, and change-makers. Parents, coaches, and neighbours are encouraged to nominate a child who is making a difference, whether through acts of kindness, cultural leadership, creativity, or community involvement. Nominations can be made online, with nominations closing on Oct. 24.
Other opportunities for businesses, families, schools, and individuals to get involved in the 2025 Step Up initiative include Dress Purple Day, a province-wide initiative held on Oct. 24, where schools, businesses, and organizations are invited to wear purple, post their photos online, and find new ways to Step Up, such as bake sales or fundraisers to benefit the Mazinaajim Children’s Foundation; and the Step Up School Story Challenge where students across the region will write or draw their own Step Up Stories on purple footprints that line school hallways, creating powerful story walls celebrating leadership, kindness, and creativity. A Teacher Resource Package is available for download online.
“The community is invited to come celebrate Step Up Kids throughout the month of October,” Sawchyn says. “Recognition builds confidence, inspires other kids, and lays the foundation for safe and positive choices. When we celebrate our kids, we remind them, and ourselves, of the power they hold to shape our future.”