Surprise contest win earns $20,000 to connect youth, Elders

Vanessa Omeasoo got a bit more than she bargained for when meeting recently with officials from her bank.

Omeasoo had earlier participated in a TD Bank survey asking how people could improve their communities. Omeasoo, who has Cree and Blackfeet ancestry, and works as the Neyaskweyahk Restorative Justise co-ordinator, had plenty of ideas. As it turned out, those TD officials seeking ideas were also looking for winners for their 24 Hours To Make Today Matter Contest.

The North American contest saw 24 people awarded $20,000 each in order to make their wishes become an instant reality.

“It’s definitely an honour for our community,” Omeasoo said of the TD funding she received. “It shows they are recognizing us. And it shows that they appreciate us.”

Though she had participated in the survey, Omeasoo still felt she was heading to the bank that day to discuss her own account. Omeasoo, who has Stargardt disease and is legally blind, did not notice the camera crews that had been set up in the bank. They were there to capture her reaction upon hearing the news she was a contest winner.

“The bank manager was brought in and slid across a credit card along the desk and said, ‘There’s a large amount of money on there to make your day happen,’” she said.

After a few puzzling moments, Omeasoo realized she was not there to discuss her own banking needs.

As part of her proposed ideas to help her community, Omeasoo was keen to connect youth with Elders. Not only do the youth in her community have few activities to keep them interested and Elders often have few people visiting them, she points out, but the connection is also an opportunity to preserve valuable and rich traditions and culture.

“Every time an Elder passes away there is a book from our oral history that is gone because of the knowledge they have,” Omeasoo said.

But now with the funding she received from the contest, Omeasoo is out to change that.

Contest organizers got the ball rolling by purchasing an iMac computer as well as a couple of video recorders and tripods. A website was also launched and a technician was paid to get it up and running.

The website will soon include uploaded iMovies, where Elders pass on various stories.

“It is frowned upon to record (in the Aboriginal community),” Omeasoo said. “But I try to tell them they need to do this to preserve this for our children and our grandchildren.”

After purchases were made, $5,000 was remaining from the award money. Officials gave that amount to Omeasoo to continue running her program.

Earlier this year, Omeasoo had been honoured with a provincial Community Justice Award. She had served as the restorative justice co-ordinator for the Samson Cree Nation for almost two years. Since April she’s held the same title for the Ermineskin Cree Nation.

Her duties include facilitating workshops to prevent crime and conflict.