A Carleton University student was named one of this year’s winners of the RBC Spirit of the Capital Awards, an event organized by Youth Ottawa to highlight young Ottawans’ contributions to their communities.
Dahlia Belfer, a first-year social work student, is one of the recipients of the Max Keeping Award for Personal Courage, which is awarded every year to two individuals demonstrating community service and determination in the face of personal challenges.
An involved member of her local Jewish community and the greater Ottawa community, Belfer said receiving the award was a way to look back on her work over the past few years.
“When you go and help people or you volunteer, it’s not with the sights of an award,” Belfer said. “I kind of had to look back at what I was doing and the health stuff I had gone through in the past two or three years and say like, ‘oh wow okay, I actually did do things.’”
Three years ago, Belfer was diagnosed with dysautonomia, a condition in which the autonomic nervous system—which controls involuntary bodily functions such as breathing and digesting—doesn’t work properly. The condition led to Belfer being in and out of hospitals for the past few years.
“The amazing things that people in my community have done for my family and me since I got sick was mind-blowing,” Belfer said, such as friends and neighbours cooking and dropping off meals, or spending time with her brother.
Belfer said for her, the support from her community highlighted the importance of paying it forward.
“When you see that, it’s almost impossible to not want to do something back for your community, because it’s amazing how much people can come together in really hard times,” she said.
Since the beginning of the pandemic in March, Belfer has been organizing an initiative to deliver cards to patients in hospitals who couldn’t receive visits due to physical distancing regulations.
“All of the programming that was there in the hospital to kind of keep you sane was gone,” she said.
Through her initiative, close to 300 cards have been delivered to the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa and the Ottawa Hospital General campus since March.
Belfer has also contributed to the growth of her local chapter of Torah High, a Hebrew school.
Rabbi David Rotenberg, director of the Ottawa chapters of the National Conference of Synagogue Youth and Torah High, has taught and worked closely with Belfer for the past eight years.
Rotenberg credits Belfer for helping to create the first-ever advanced class in Jewish studies at Torah High, which allowed her to continue her high-level learning alongside like-minded students.
He said in an email that Belfer takes a leadership role in social, educational and religious programming, such as speaking at local and regional conventions to over 200 attendees.
“Despite the personal difficulties she has been facing, Dahlia’s spirit and strength of character continue to make her an incredible role model for her peers,” he said.
Rotenburg added he could not think of a more fitting accolade for Belfer, or any young adult more deserving of the award.
“I know that she has needed to face situations and life decisions that no one her age should have to. Through all of that, Dahlia faced these challenges with a remarkable attitude and with as much faith as she could muster,” he said.
Stefania Marino, communications and special events coordinator at Youth Ottawa, said the awards are a way to recognize and celebrate the work of youth that can often go unnoticed.
“The recipients a lot of times are really contributing to the community but they never really get appreciated for it or recognized, and the award really just helps them realize that what they are doing is making a difference and people are acknowledging it,” she said.
Highlighting the work of youth is a way to motivate them to continue the work in their community, Marino said.
“For youth to feel empowered is a really big thing, and it allows them to continue on the journey that they’re on,” she said.
Marino said the awards allow youth to inspire each other, and that she hopes to see youth nominate other youth in their communities making a change for the upcoming 2021 awards.
Belfer encourages other youth hoping to make a positive change to just go for it, “right away.”
“Do it! Find something you’re passionate about and just dive in because it will succeed, people want to help others.”
Featured image by Spencer Colby.
