youth pose at the sassy awards

Attendees gathered at the Surrey Arts Centre to celebrate 35 nominees in six award categories.

May 3, 2023
Media Release

Surrey, BC – The 13th Annual Service Above Self Surrey Youth (SASSY) Awards were presented on Tuesday, May 2, 2023, during BC Youth Week to honour achievements of local youth. Attendees gathered at the Surrey Arts Centre to celebrate 35 nominees in six award categories.

“It’s so wonderful to see young people in Surrey taking on leadership roles and working for a better future for everyone,” said Mayor Brenda Locke. “On behalf of Council, I would like to thank and commend all SASSY award recipients for their contributions to our city. I would also like to thank all the sponsors, performers, volunteers and youth leaders who helped to put on this great event.”

Awards were presented to three finalists in the categories of Arts & Culture Leadership, Community Service, Environmental Leadership, Youth Leadership, Overcoming Adversity and Sports and Recreation Leadership. The award recipients of each category received $1,500 along with a $500 donation to present to a charity of their choice. The two finalists in each category both received $500 to honour their achievements in the community as well as a $250 donation to present to the charity of their choice.

Presented by Semiahmoo Rotary Club along with the City of Surrey, the 13th annual SASSY Awards featured Kevin Kelly and Michael Kelly-Gabriel, q̓ʷɑ:n̓ƛ̓ən̓ from Kwantlen First Nations for an Indigenous welcome, and performances by the Kwel Eng Sen Dance Group from Semiahmoo First Nations, headliner Josh Bogert, singer song writers Phoenix Lauren and Karishma Deo. Proceeds from the SASSY Awards support Rotary youth programs like Interact and Rotaract, where youth from our community lead projects locally and globally to help make the world a better place. Any surplus proceeds generated from the event support special youth projects in the community and future SASSY awards.

For more information and a full list of award recipients, visit sassyawardssurrey.ca