Voting kicked off for the 12th annual RBC Top 25 Canadian Immigrants Awards on June 23, 2020, and CCS is right in the mix, picking up three nominations in the two award categories.

First, CCS was chosen as one of the shortlisted agencies for the Settlement Agency of the Year. Next, Agnes Thomas, Executive Director, and Sanga Achakzai, Employment Access Placement Facilitator, were chosen as two of seventy-five finalists in the Top 25 Canadian Immigrants of the Year category.

The COVID-19 crisis has shown we are all interconnected despite race, culture or country of origin and the awards symbolize the importance of diversity and perseverance.

About the Nominees

This is CCS’ first-ever nomination for settlement agency of the year.

In terms of the individual award nominees, throughout her career, Agnes has brought passion and heart to her work and now she has her sights set on taking CCS to the next level. Sanga is also the chair of Council of Agencies Serving South Asians (CASSA) and an advocate and champion for racialized and marginalized communities in Ontario.

How to Vote

The selection process is open the general public and similar to a “People’s Choice Award” where voting will be integral to choosing the winners in both categories. If you would like to vote, please visit www.canadianimmigrant.ca/rbctop25 where you can select your settlement agency of choice and review the biographies of all finalists in the Immigrant of the Year category, and even choose up to three of the nominees.

Voting Closes August 7, 2020

The winners in both categories will then be announced online in September and featured in that month’s print edition of Canadian Immigrant magazine.

RBC, the title sponsor, usually donates $500 on behalf of the Top 25 winners to registered Canadian charities. This year, those funds will be donated to Windmill Microlending, an organization helping internationally-trained newcomers including those in the healthcare field affected by COVID-19. RBC has also made the generous decision to increase that donation to $50,000!

This is our opportunity to celebrate the CCS story and also support friends and colleagues too.