By Acharya Dwivedi

SURREY – Kwantlen Polytechnic University launched a new award on June 16 to recognize partners of institution who have made a positive and significant impact on local communities. This is meant to encourage and inspire others to do affirmative community work.

The Surrey Network to Eliminate Violence Relationships (NEVR) and Surrey Anti-Gang Family Empowerment (SAFE) programs each received a Community Impact Award, highlighting partnerships that support the university’s vision of transforming lives and empowering positive change.

“The intent of the community Impact Award is to recognize individuals and organizations who are strong partners of KPU and make a difference in regional communities of relevance to KPU,” said KPU President Alan Davis.

NEVR has been working and vigorously campaigning towardthe goal of eliminating violence in relationships in the community and it focuses on all aspects of relationship violence- physical, sexual, emotional, and financial, and its effects on all members of a community. NEVR is composed of more than 200 members from the fields of community services, education, academic, law enforcement and government.

NEVR is hosted at KPU,and its founder and charismatic leader Dr. Balbir Gurm is an instructor in the university’s nursing program.Gurm says NEVR members have raised awareness, hosted conferences, created toolkits, published a book, and continue to work toward NEVR’s vision of ending violence and cultivating peace. 

She exhorts people, “You do not hear much about the relationship violence, and it kills so many people. If we do not do prevention we will never have resources to deal with the challenge”.

SAFE delivers 11 programs through 10 partner agencies, including KPU.Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum says SAFE works to keep children and youth out of gangs while building positive life skills and increasing connections with family, school, and community.

Recipients of award NEVR and SAFE received a painting each by artist Alison Curtis, a KPU alumnus whose work exploresthe roles that color plays in tricking the eye and fragment space. 

The Community Impact Award is presented annually, and nomination can be submitted through KPU’s Office of the throughkpu.ca.