Calgary, 1 June 2023 – Philippine-born Jeanae Elisha Ventura, 13 years old, is this year’s recipient of the 2023 Calgary Award for the category of Community Achievement Award for Youth.

Ms. Ventura, who was six years old when her family moved to Calgary in 2016, was among the 13 awardees that were recognized by the city during the ceremony held on the night of 14 June 2023 at the Calgary City Hall. Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek personally handed the award to Ms. Ventura.

 

Established in 1994, the Calgary Awards are given to individuals, corporations, community groups, and organizations to celebrate and recognize their outstanding achievements and contributions as Calgarians. 

Ms. Ventura was recognized for her skills in performance arts as well as her food and toy drives that have helped Calgary families and children. The City of Calgary also credited her advocacy for diversity and inclusion on behalf of girls and young Filipinos in the city.

 

In her nomination form, Ms. Ventura was cited for being a volunteer of Alberta Children's Hospital where she collected a total of 4,000 toys worth $60,500.00 from 2019 to 2022 and distributed them as Christmas gifts to the admitted kid patients in the Hospital

Likewise, Ms. Ventura organized the program ‘’Gift of Hope’’ in November 2020 to help the victims of Typhoon Ulysses in the Philippines. With the help of generous donors, she raised over $1,300.00 that she sent to the Philippines to buy and distribute food packages to over 250 families that were affected by the typhoon.

 

During the Christmas season in 2020 in Calgary, she reached out to a donor that gave her 100 packs of bread, which she then distributed to the homeless in Calgary.

 

Ms. Ventura is a singer and a member of Young Canadians School of Performing Arts since 2018. The Young Canadians is a group of more than a 100 young people, ages 8 to 21, who have been performing at the Calgary Stampede since 1968.

 

Ms. Ventura also joins various talent competitions.  She has held the titles of Junior Miss Calgary 2019-2020, Junior Miss Galaxy Canada 2021-2022, and the international title of Jr. Teen Galaxy International 2022-2023.

 

She is the second Filipino to win the Calgary Awards. In 2021, Ms. Marichu Antonio was named as Calgary’s Citizen of the Year.

 

Consul General Zaldy Patron extended his congratulations to Ms. Ventura.

 

“At such a young age, Ms. Ventura has accomplished a lot for herself, the City of Calgary, the Filipino community, and the Philippines. She is the latest pride and inspiration of the Filipino community in Calgary,” said Consul General Patron.

 

There are an estimated 89,000 Filipinos in Calgary out of the city’s total population of 1.48 million.