Aldege Bellefeuille receives Mayor’s City Builder Award

Mayor Jim Watson and Orléans Ward Councillor Bob Monette presented a Mayor’s City Builder Award to Aldege Bellefeuille at today’s City Council meeting, recognizing his continued leadership and dedication to his community.

Aldege has volunteered with the Orléans Bengals Football Club since 2010 and has recently surpassed 1,000 hours of volunteer time. His dedication to the players has helped him expand his role with the team far beyond that of coach. No task is too small, from fundraising, to securing safe-contact training for coaches, to ensuring that athletes have access to snacks before and after practices and games.

His personal goal is to help athletes from all backgrounds identify concrete ways to access academic advancement opportunities, available via competitive sport in the form of athletic scholarships. By donating his time and energy, he has helped players overcome socio-economic barriers, improving the lives of both players and their families.

Aldege has also developed and helped secure continued funding for Be a Bengal not a Bully, a program aimed at enhancing known protective factors to protect against bullying. By helping participants identify and recognize risk factors like social isolation, financial barriers and having friends who bully, the program aims to build an inclusive and safe environment for all members of the community. Under Aldege’s guidance, it has grown from a small initiative to an award-winning program, having received the 2012 Royal Ottawa Inspiration Award.

The Mayor’s City Builder Award is a civic honour created to recognize an individual, group or organization that has, through outstanding volunteerism or exemplary action, demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to making our city a better place today and for the future. This may include lifelong service, outstanding acts of kindness, inspiring charitable work, community building or other exemplary achievements. Individuals, groups or organizations may be nominated by members of City Council or the public. The award is presented at the beginning of each City Council meeting.