Governor General's Caring Canadian Award

The Governor General's Caring Canadian Award is a Canadian award established to honour volunteers. It was first announced in November 1995 by Roméo LeBlanc. It is intended for an individual whose unpaid, voluntary contributions, behind-the-scenes, provide extraordinary help or care to individuals or groups in the community.^[1]

Eligibility

• The nominee must be a Canadian citizen or permanent residents and nominations from any age group are welcome. Candidates will normally not have been previously recognized by a national or provincial honour.

• It is possible to nominate a small group for the Award; however, every person in the group must have contributed equally to be eligible.

• Candidates do not have to be active volunteers when being considered for an Award; however, their past voluntary contributions should have been extensive.

• Individuals caring for an immediate family member may be considered for an Award if they are involved in other volunteer work in the community.

• Posthumous nominations are not accepted.

Selection

An independent Advisory Committee made up of Canadians from across the country meets to review submissions, and recipients are announced periodically.

Once a nomination for a candidate is received, research is undertaken to confirm facts and a summary of information about each candidate is presented to the Advisory Committee for review. The Committee submits recommendations to the Governor General.

Presentations

The certificate and lapel pin are presented to recipients by a dignitary, such as Lieutenant-Governor or a territorial commissioner or a mayor. On occasion, the Governor General presents awards during regional visits.

To date the Governor General has honoured over 1,500 Canadians across the country. Most of these individuals have devoted years to volunteer activities within their community.

Nominations

Nominations are always accepted; there are no deadlines. Please write to caring-entraide@gg.ca, call 1-800-465-6890 or by mail at the Chancellery of Honours, 1 Sussex Drive, Ottawa Ontario, K1A 0A1.

See also

• List of awards presented by the Governor General of Canada

References

http://www.gg.ca/caring

Orders, decorations, and medals of Canada Awards of valour Victoria Cross Cross of Valour Dynastic and national orders Order of Merit Order of Canada Order of Military Merit Order of Merit of the Police Forces Royal Victorian Order Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem Provincial orders Orders, decorations, and medals of the Canadian provinces Other decorations and medals Royal Victorian Chain Decorations War and operational service medals Special service medals United Nations medals NATO medals International mission medals Commemorative medals Long service and good conduct medals Exemplary service medals Special Medals