What is Youth Focus?
Youth Focus celebrates and supports young people in our community through three programs: Youth Speakers, Emerging Leader Awards, and the Kathryn Sells Award. Together, these programs give youth a voice, foster leadership, and celebrate their talents and achievements.
Youth Speakers
Youth Focus began in 2000 as part of our 90th anniversary celebrations. Since then, we proudly invite young people to share their experiences, ideas, and perspectives with our members.
At four monthly meetings each year, we set aside 7–10 minutes for a youth speaker. We welcome diverse voices and encourage young people of all genders to participate.
Our speakers:
Share their unique stories, passions, and ideas
Range from Grade 5 students to university students
Are from the greater London area
Inspire us with the energy and potential of today’s youth and our confidence in Canada’s future
Youth Speakers
Young voices. Inspiring stories. A bright future.
Inaaya Zia
September 10, 2026
Lamees Abdulla
March 12, 2026
Lamees (18 years old) received the Coray Trailblazer award which is sponsored by the London Police. The award recognizes people from Africa, Caribbean, and Black Canadian communities and three recipients also receive bursaries and a possibility of a full-time summer job.
Kyla Johnson Potter
January 15, 2026
Kayla (grade 8 student) is President of her Student Council and an active member of the Social Justice Club. She founded Project Rainbow which gets more LBTQIA+ books into school libraries. She fundraises and has podcasts with authors of inclusive books.
Karim, Ysef, Ali, and Omar Moustapha
November 13, 2025
Karim (12 years old) and his brothers created and run a business at Western Fair Market, called Color Me Inc. which creates and sells life-sized colouring sheets. They created this business when they got bored using regular colouring sheets during Covid.
Evan James
September 18, 2025
Evan represented Canada at the Pitch Hit and run finals at the World Series in LA’s Dodger Stadium. Evan aspires to be a baseball player for a living and be a great pitcher like his Dad.
Have a story or idea to share?
We’d love to hear from you!
Emerging Leaders Awards
Recognizing tomorrow’s leaders today
Our 2026 Recipients
The Emerging Leader Awards were established in 2015 to recognize and to encourage outstanding leadership within school and community among students in Grades 10 and 11.
Recipients are selected from London area school systems, including:
- Thames Valley District School Board
- London District Catholic School Board
- French-language schools
Contact your school’s Guidance Department to confirm the application process.
In 2026, thanks to the generous support of TD Bank Group, eight students will each receive a $500 award.
Kathryn Sells Award
Celebrating musical excellence since 1987
In memory of Kathryn Sells, a long-time pianist at our monthly meetings, we present an annual $500 award to the top pianist at the Kiwanis Music Festival.
Each February, the award recipient is invited to our meeting to share their musical journey with our members and perform a piece in person or by video.
The Kiwanis Music Festival recognizes competitors who, in the opinion of its adjudicators, demonstrate the greatest potential for musical development.
The 2025 Kathryn Sells award winner is Daniel Thiessen!
Daniel Thiessen is twelve years old and began studying piano at the age of five. Over the past four years he has earned multiple top placements at the Kiwanis Music Festival in London. In 2025, he was awarded first place in both the OMFA Provincial Music Festival and the ORMTA Provincial Competition for piano solo. He has performed at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto in the 2022 Celebration of Excellence in recognition of achieving the highest RCM exam score in Canada that year. He has also performed at the 2024 and 2025 Stars of the Festival showcases in London. Currently, he studies piano with Dr. Kyung Kim at Western University. A student of St. Mary’s Choir and Orchestra School in London, Daniel also plays cello in the school’s orchestra program.
