Vaval, Campbell are agents of change

MONTREAL -- To celebrate
Black History Month
, the Canadiens honored two Quebecers dedicated to building a better and more inclusive future for our next generation.

In conjunction with the club's Impact Player initiative, Pierreson Vaval and Grace Campbell were recognized as true agents of social change for their transformative work, positive influence, and community involvement with their respective organizations.
The Impact Player program allows the Canadiens to shine a light on the transformative work of Quebec-based individuals and organizations making a real difference in their communities.
Each honoree will receive a personalized special edition black warmup jersey, identical to the one the Habs will wear on Black History Night tonight at the Bell Centre. In addition, a $1,000 grant will be awarded to the organization each recipient is working with.

Since 1997, Vaval has served as the director of Équipe RDP, focusing his efforts on preventing and countering delinquency, violence, school attrition and drug addiction among vulnerable youth in Rivière-des-Prairies (RDP).
Équipe RDP utilizes social intervention programs aimed at fighting the marginalization and isolation of this particular group, including sports and leisure activities, to foster social development and improve quality of life for local residents.
"Équipe RDP is more than just an organization, it's a movement. We wanted to make a change. There were some issues that endangered the harmonious development of the community, and we saw that as a challenge that needed to be addressed. We wanted RDP to keep developing in a positive way," explained Vaval. "To do that, we needed to work with at-risk youth. We believed that if we engaged with them, mobilized them, and mobilized the community around them, they could become positive assets. We found ways to connect with them and help them find their place in the community so they could play a constructive role in society."

Last summer, Équipe RDP also started a unique initiative designed specifically for older at-risk youth, affording participants the chance to learn the construction business on-site.
Ninety youngsters have already benefited from the training program and another 60 are on board waiting to start.
"We're open to using all kinds of mediums for connecting. Older youth don't necessarily need alternatives in terms of sports and activities, they need to find resources and concrete avenues and opportunities that will allow them to meet their socioeconomic needs. That's where construction and learning a trade comes into play," stressed Vaval. "Participants see that they don't need to spend their entire lives living in marginality. They can find their place in society, live with dignity, and be proud of what they're doing. The emphasis is on building instead of destroying."

Asked what his overall message would be to the public at large, Vaval delivered a passionate response.
"Let's stay focused on our young people. Every society that neglects youth is a society without a future. We must take care of our kids, especially the ones who are struggling. We need to ensure they have a place, because everyone has a role to play in building the Quebec of today and the Quebec of tomorrow," he insisted. "If you put in the time with youth now, your society, your community, and your quality of life will improve."
Vaval is also one of the founding members of Coalition Pozé, which brings together various stakeholders from Montreal's Black communities who work to defend the interests of young Afro-Quebecers.
In 2002, he was presented with the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal, which is awarded to Canadians who made outstanding and exemplary contributions to their communities or to Canada as a whole.
Since 2004, Campbell has served as executive director of
Women on the Rise
, a nonprofit organization based in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce (NDG) that offers programs and services to mothers and their families, including empowerment-based individual support and group support.
"Our mission is helping mothers to help themselves. We take a holistic approach. We provide workshops on parenting, on building skills, on confidence, on health and well-being. We focus on the fact that we really want to empower a mother," explained Campbell. "We also have facilitators leading workshops on parenting, social housing and budgeting, just about everything that can make people whole again."

Women on the Rise encourages mutual aid and the creation of friendships by affording mothers a productive space to learn and grow together.
"We embrace diversity. It's good to hear from another mother how they go about doing something, like preparing food, for example. We focus a lot on nutrition because we think it's important that they understand how they can feed their families if they have lower budgets," stressed Campbell. "Just because you don't have a lot of money doesn't mean you can't eat well, so we show them how to make it work."
Campbell is a certified family coach, so there's a real emphasis on teaching mothers to develop a well-balanced family life at home.
"We prepare them to build their families and talk about the importance of family," shared Campbell. "We show them how to communicate with their children and teach positive discipline and how that works really well in developing your family as you go along."

While Campbell is retiring in May after two decades of service, she hopes that Women on the Rise will continue to grow and prosper by reaching as many women as possible.
"We need to become a women's center. We already address a variety of needs, but we need to extend and get bigger. We would like to be recognized as an organization that can help every woman out there," noted Campbell, who received the Community Service Award from the Cornucopia Association of Canada in 2014 for her outstanding contribution to society. "Whether you have children or not, we just want to be able to serve women."
Vaval and Campbell were chosen as Impact Player honorees by a selection committee composed of two Black community leaders - Ernest Jr. Edmond, founding president of Les Ballons Intensifs and a past Impact Player honoree, and Fabrice Vil, founder of Pour 3 Points - and two members of color of the Canadiens organization - former player Georges Laraque and in-arena host Michel Kunta.
Click here
to learn more about Équipe RDP.
Click here
to learn more about Women on the Rise.