January Marie Lapuz
Youth Leadership Award

Cash
Prizes

The January Marie Lapuz Youth Leadership Award is an annual award bestowed upon a deserving youth who is 16 to 30 years of age and who has demonstrated involvement, commitment and leadership in the LGBTQ+ community whether locally, nationally and/or internationally.

Your application should include the following:

1. Cover Letter
   Name, address, phone, email, age, date of birth, pronouns.
2. Photo
   Recent high resolution JPEG image of yourself (with a photo credit if possible).
3. Biography
   150-word biography.
4. Personal Statement
   500-word statement demonstrating  involvement, commitment and leadership in the LGBTQ+ community.
5. Social Adversity Statement (Optional)
   500-word statement demonstrating social adversity and the impact it has had (this will be kept confidential).
6. References
   Include two to four of any of the following: reference letters, news articles or relevant website links to verify and confirm your application.
7. Demographics (Optional)
   For statistical purposes, provide your gender identity, sexual orientation and ethnicity.
8. Application Deadline
   Email application to Alex Sangha at info@shervancouver.com by December 31 at midnight.

Winners will need to provide a follow-up report within a year describing how the funds were spent. Prize money is to continue your volunteer work and community service within the LGBTQ+ community.

Winner: $1,000 CAD
1st Runner Up: $600 CAD
2nd Runner Up: $400 CAD
Honourable Mention: $200 CAD

Winners will be announced in January and will receive a letter of congratulations, a certificate and a cash prize funded by DIVERSEcity—our exclusive sponsor of the January Marie Lapuz Youth Leadership Award

Winners

2019: Norma Lize
2018: Shilpa Narayan
2017: Prachi Khanna
2016: Sukhdeep Singh
2015: Jaspreet Chahal

2019 Winners Presentation

Pictured from left to right: Neelam Sahota (CEO of DIVERSEcity), 1st Runner Up Andy Holmes, Winner Norma Lize, 2nd Runner Up Jackson Wai Chung Tse, Alex Sangha (Founder of Sher Vancouver) and Upkar Tatlay (Director of DIVERSEcity)

Who Was January?

January Marie Lapuz was born in 1986 in Santiago City, Philippines and passed away in 2012, in New Westminster, BC.  She was the Social Coordinator of Sher Vancouver and the first transgender person to hold an Executive position within the organization. Being the life of the party, January would make everyone laugh. She was a kind, caring, generous and loyal friend.

Although January faced many challenges and struggles as an immigrant, a person of colour and as a transgender woman living in poverty, she was a bright light and shining star. Her legacy lives on.

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© Sher Vancouver, 2020