United in Our Differences: Together We Have It All

The annual EMSB Parent Volunteer Appreciation Evening took place   virtually this year during National Volunteer Week, which ran from April 24 to 29, under the theme of “United in Our Differences: Together We Have It All.”  You can access the program on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4AumT1uQrE 

Ambassador of The Year

Earl E. Rubin is this year’s Ambassador of the Year.  He is an Associate Professor in Department of Pediatrics and in the Department of Laboratory Medicine, Division of Microbiology at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC).  He is a consultant in Pediatrics Infectious Diseases, and a Clinical Microbiologist, as well as an attending physician in General Pediatrics at the Montreal Children’s Hospital (MCH).  Earl is the Division Director, for the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the MCH

In the community, Earl was a former Chairperson for the Governing Board of Westmount High, but also served as a member of the Board of Directors for Akiva School and the YM-YWHA.  He currently is a Governing Board member for Royal West Academy. 

Earl has volunteered to help guide certain EMSB schools as it pertains to COVID-19, hosting webinars/zoom meetings for the faculty at Westmount High School, as well as for the parent body, doing the same for Royal West Academy, and recently for the student body at Royal Vale (elementary and High School).  He has done the same for certain private schools in the Montreal area.

For the past 10 years, Earl has organized and chaired bi-annual medical meetings of certain Montreal Anglophone summer camps, with the Directors and Medical Staff to discuss common medical/dental issues that face all camps.  For the year 2021, Earl created a protocol for the safe opening and running of "camps de vacances" in terms of Covid-19 that was submitted and eventually accepted by Quebec Public Health and the Quebec Ministry of Health .  With this document, policies and procedures were then drafted and implemented by Quebec Camping Association.

Volunteer of Distinction

The Volunteer of Distinction for this year is Mubeenah Mughal from Programme Mile End in the borough of Cote-des-Neiges. 

Mubeenah started volunteering on the ACSES committee of the EMSB and became the delegate to the Parents’ Committee for ACSES and most recently has been the Parent Commissioner for Special Needs. 

For the past 10 years she continues to volunteer her time and energy to various causes for the EMSB and the community. Mubeenah works with organizations advocating for people including undocumented migrants, new parents and the blind, she is also part of the advocacy group Femmes Noires Musulmanes au Québec and was recently involved with the community space Bâtiment 7 Pointe Saint-Charles. And during the pandemic, she began running virtual community karaoke events to help keep spirits up.

She was integral in launching the EMSB's legal challenge to Bill 21, the controversial Quebec law that bars teachers and other people in positions of authority from wearing religious symbols.

Mubeenah is a loyal, devoted, and hard-working woman. She is at the heart of the school or community. She says, “with an activist heart, you bring the mentality of wanting to enact change to everything you do — whether it's spending time with loved ones or just going about daily tasks.”

Beneva

For the 13th consecutive year, Beneva was the title sponsor for this event. Beneva (https://www.beneva.ca/en), which is a member of Beneva, offers a wide range of products and services that are designed to simplify financial choices for members working in the public and par public sectors in over 900 public and par public institutions across the province.  These services include: personal financial advice; savings, investments and funds; individual life and health insurance; mortgages and personal loans; insurance for automobiles, recreational vehicles, home, travel and legal access; commercial insurance; and group insurance. 

Recognizing Volunteers

This year’s Virtual event included recognition of all volunteers, notably those with five years of service or more. There are formal presentations for Dr.  Rubin, Ms. Mughal, remarks by  EMSB Chair Joe Ortona,  Director General Nick Katalifos, Parents Committee Chair Caleigh Saucier and a representative from event sponsor Beneva.

View the program booklet here