Georgian Grad Receives Premier’s Award For Community Services

Kevin Collins went from an Easter Seals camper as a kid to the top of the organization

Kevin Collins says Georgian College is where it all started for him. The Georgian grad, recipient of a Premier’s Award in the Community Services Category, says Georgian gave him the foundation to get him to where he is today.

Collins shared his fond memories of the Barrie campus where he took Hotel and Resort Administration in 1984 and Tourism Management in 1985.

Collins became president and CEO of Easter Seals in Ontario in 2017, which for him has become a great opportunity to give back. As a child with Cerebral Palsy, Collins benefited from Easter Seals’ camp programs and pledged to give back, doing so as executive director of Friends We Care, the industry’s charitable arm, which sends physically disabled children to camp. After successfully tripling the organization’s donor base and raising $20.5 million over his career, he moved into his current position.

“People believed in me and that is a powerful thing,” said Collins. “When I get up in the morning, I am driven by having the privilege to help provide children with physical disabilities the opportunity to achieve their dreams. This is my inspiration and my passion and it’s like no other. It’s an honour to receive the Premier’s Award in the category of Community Services.”

Pictured is Kevin Collins and his wife Marcia

Collins is a two-time recipient of the Queen’s Jubliee Medal and Ontario Restaurant’s Trillium Award Newsmaker of the Year 2013. He has brought philanthropy to the forefront of the hospitality industry

Collins received his award at a gala celebration on December 2nd.



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