Miranda Jurilj of Junior Civitan - and Dundas Youth Volunteer of the Year 2012

Today we heard about the work of the Junior Civitan organization from Highland student Miranda Jurilj.

Junior Civitan International, the junior branch of the Civitan Organization,  is a service club that was founded in Portland Maine in 1927, with the first Canadian branch in Toronto in 1957. Now there are over 400 Chartered Clubs and 12,000 members worldwide. Junior Civitan's purpose is to provide all  members with personal and career development opportunities while improving schools and communities through volunteer service. A major focus of their projects is to help people with developmental disabilities.

Miranda spoke of the many projects that Junior Civitan undertakes; most appropriately for this time of year they run Sno-Do, a cross country snowmobile event, to raise money for people with developmental disabilities and Miranda has raised over $6000 this year for this event. One of the main beneficiaries of Junior Civitan fundraising is the Civitan International Research Centre -  one of their research projects was instrumental in the discovery of the effects of folic acid in preventing birth defects.

Miranda is President of the Dundas Junior Civitan and also of Canadian West District of Civitan. A small club (with only 13 members) it was nevertheless voted the 2nd Place Most Outstanding Club of the Year last year.