Sooners in the Community

---

Hello, 
My name is Cédric Abu-Zahra, I’m born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario and I’m 20 years old today. 
 
Last year’s Past Commissioners award recipient, Danny Espinoza Mattoon, really motivated me to get more involved with the community and represent my team, my city, my name, my country, etc. Since January I have done many things that, I feel, are worth mentioning. It isn’t in my nature to speak about myself to people who I’m not very close to, and it isn’t in my nature to push my own nomination for an award, but I hope I’m able to motivate someone else to take initiative in their community just like how Danny motivated me. 
 
To start off, I founded a non-profit charity organization named Help Kids Be Kids which raises money for the children's hospital. I organized a fun day for a fundraiser, spread the word and funded it by myself. I hired a dj, had a face painting table, board games, basketball arcade game, got together a respectable raffle and even got the hospital’s mascot to come. All this was being held at Montana’s BBQ and Bar on Saturday, June 7th (I worked there so it wasn’t very hard to get them on board). I also got high school students to help in exchange for volunteer hours. At first it was supposed to be a one time event, but as I got closer to the day, I didn’t want the fun to end and decided to make it at least an annual thing. The whole thing was a success, I wanted to raise 2000$ and finished with 2435.10$. As of right now, although nothing is official, I am planning something bigger for next offseason and trying to keep Help Kids Be Kids involved.
 
I also helped coach a grade 7-8 girls flag-football team and a grade 7-8 boys touch-football team from the end of April to June, at my old high-school, helping some of my old coaches and was at, on average, at least one practice per day. Both teams went undefeated in the regular season and both teams, unfortunately, crumbled in the playoffs. But it was fun nonetheless. It was my first year with the girls team and my fourth year with the guys.
 
The Sooners were also involved in the community and I was there for all of the events. I went to visit, with some coaches and about 4-5 teammates, both Woodroffe and Notre-Dame High-School to help grow the sport. I was in the gym giving them wide receivers and would try my best to help out during the defensive back drills. We also went to both the YMCA in Rockland Ontario and the one in downtown Ottawa for march break camps. We did less football drills and more football related activities like British bulldog, the gauntlet, etc. I had the responsibility to include the french speakers as well as helping run the games and encourage the kids. We also went to a retirement home for a social event with some of the residents. Where we got to sit and talk with about 10 retired men for about 1-1.5 hours. It was a nice feeling representing the Sooners off the field.
 
With Help Kids Be Kids having gone so well, a classmate of mine from the University of Ottawa reached out to me to help set up another event for the children’s hospital. Although I didn’t do nearly as much as my own event, it’s still something I’m very proud of. I had done enough to be known as someone with a good organization and influenced someone else to get involved. I helped her start her event and spread the word. I got her in contact with the hospital and made her a page to send money to the hospital like I had done for mine. She had a car meet planned and her event was a success as well. 
 
I’m going to help out at a movie in the park event later in September. I’m not quite sure what I’ll be doing but they asked me to volunteer and I think it’ll be fun.
 
I want to make it clear that I did not make any sort of financial or material profit and was never forced by anyone to do any of the activities. I did it because I have to represent Ottawa, I have to represent the Sooners, I have to represent French-Canadians, I have to represent the name Abu-Zahra which also represents the Arab and Palestinian community, I have to represent Canada, and hopefully get more people my age to start getting involved in their communities. I also did it because I was fortunate to have a healthy childhood and wanted to do my best to ensure that every kid could get out of the hospital as quickly as possible and go back to being kids. I also remember the 20 year old volunteers making my day at camps and practices growing up, to be honest they might be one of the reasons why I love and still play sports today. I just hope to make an impact in the world and winning the Past Commissioners award could get my story out there.
 
 
Keep scrolling down to look at the pictures:
 
 

Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) mascot and I around the fundraiser

The logo I designed. It not only represents the kids flourishing, my last name means “Father of the flower” in arabic


Face painting station

 
(In white)
 
(In white)
 On the very left at the Ottawa YMCA 
 
On the very right at the Rockland YMCA
 
On the very left at the Retirement home