North Vancouver resident Glenda Morin was recently awarded Big Sisters of B.C. Lower Mainland's Big Heart Award for 2010.

According to a written statement, the Big Sisters Big Heart Awards are awarded annually to recognize two volunteers and a company (or group of companies) who make outstanding contributions of time, energy and support to the organization.

Morin began volunteering with Big Sisters of B.C. Lower Mainland in 2002 as a Big Sister and was a dedicated mentor to her Little Sister Marley until 2009. Although their match officially ended last year when Marley turned 19, they remain great friends.

Over the years Morin has also been very involved on a variety of committees at Big Sisters. Most notably, Morin, who is of First Nations heritage, was chairwoman of the First Nations activities committee from 2005 to 2009, and she is currently co-chairwoman of the activities committee. Over the past eight years, she has helped organize more than 50 group activities and cultural events for the Big and Little Sister matches.

The amount of knowledge, time and creativity Morin has shared with Big Sisters of B.C. Lower Mainland -- and with her Little Sister Marley -- has been truly invaluable and the organization was pleased to recognize Morin's tireless volunteer contributions with the 2010 Big Sisters Big Heart Award at the recent Big Sisters Volunteer Recognition Event.

For more information on Big Sisters of B.C. Lower Mainland, visit www.bigsisters.bc.ca.

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North Vancouver resident Finn Lawlor, 8, received a perfect score on a Royal Conservatory of Music Basic Rudiments in piano theory examination. He received a first class honours with distinction standing for the effort. Lawlor is taught by Lesley Scholton.

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Three Chartwell elementary students carried out a successful food drive this fall. Dubbed Halloween for Hunger, Megan Dhaliwal, Michelle Cheung and Faith Lau collected more than 100 pieces of non-perishable food products for the food bank and additionally, at their school, collected hundreds more.

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Last month, North Vancouver native Kiel Walker, 25, travelled to Cairo, Egypt and attended the 21st Annual Cairo International Model Arab League along with 10 other students from various educational backgrounds from the Université Laval in Québec City. According to his blog, they were assigned a country that falls under the mandate of the Arab League. Paired with another student, they sat on a council where they were expected to work their way through a complex set of questions, which will ideally lead to resolutions, treaties, and long-lasting sustainable peace.

Walker is a graduate of Handsworth secondary and Simon Fraser University.

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