Kingston reveals 2025 Accessibility Award winners — and their impact is changing lives across the city

City of Kingston and MAAC to honour community champions advancing inclusion on Dec. 1

The City of Kingston and its Municipal Accessibility Advisory Committee will celebrate the recipients of the 2025 Celebrating Accessibility Awards at a public ceremony on Dec. 1.

The free event runs from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Donald Gordon Hotel and Conference Centre on Union Street, and an ASL interpreter will be available. Community members are encouraged to register and note any accommodation needs.  

Deputy City Clerk Derek Ochej explains more.

Mayor Bryan Paterson says this year’s winners have made “a meaningful impact in building a more inclusive Kingston,” praising their leadership in accessibility, advocacy and community engagement.

Recipients include V2 Innovations, honoured for creating highly accessible clinical spaces and providing client-focused orthotic and prosthetic care. Science Rendezvous Kingston is being recognized for its sensory-friendly science zone and multilingual outreach, now adopted by organizations nationwide.

St. Martha’s Catholic School earned recognition for its inclusive playground and support of the Inclusive Play Project.

Ochej talks about the importance of this event of recognitation.

Two community champions are also being celebrated: Sydney Gillam, an advocate whose lived experience and public speaking inspire change, and Shannon Thompson, whose inclusive hockey program gives children with disabilities the chance to play and belong.

The awards, created in 2011, coincide with the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on Dec. 3.

Story by Alyssa Brush