Sophie LeVasseur, 17 Valérie LeVasseur, 15

Sophie and Valérie are two very motivated sisters who want to make a difference, one step at a time. Sophie has been involved with volunteering and fundraising for many vulnerable groups including young girls, veterans, and kids with hearing deficiencies. She is also an elite baseball and hockey player and helps to train and coach junior sports teams. She recently received a grant to purchase electronic equipment to allow kids with hearing deficiencies to learn to play baseball for the first time. Valérie is actively involved in organizations catering to women’s issues. She began with Girl Guides, then started volunteering with the local church to raise funds and Christmas gifts for children in need. Valérie takes great pride in the sports she plays – hockey, baseball and swimming, and is a highlander dancer, mentoring younger dancers throughout the year. Both sisters have helped publish several books with proceeds going to a variety of social causes. “A little Girl Suffers from Cancer” resulted in Air Canada donating $50,000 to the CHEO Foundation. Other books published include “VIMY, the duty of A Soldier and of a Country”, and “Ottawa Senators, 1923, Determinations and Courage”. They are completing their latest book on the “100 Most Remarkable Women in Canada”. The book will have a special version in the four indigenous languages of the 10 indigenous women interviewed and will be distributed to native reserves in Canada. For all of their remarkable work, Sophie and Valérie LaVasseur have been selected as recipients of this year’s Orléans Outstanding Youth Awards.