2026 Recipients
Mental health
Laurie Edmundson
I have committed myself to being the role model and beacon of hope that I couldn’t find when I needed it most.
Living with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and significant ongoing mental health challenges since childhood, Laurie’s journey reflects resilience and persistence. From a young age, she experienced anxiety, emotional dysregulation, and chronic suicidality, often alongside stigma and limited access to appropriate medical care.
Diagnosed with BPD at 19, Laurie chose to focus on rebuilding her life through treatment, education, and advocacy. She became an honour roll student and completed graduate programs in Indigenous Public Health and Health Administration, establishing herself as a professional in the healthcare field. She has also shared her story internationally through conference presentations, podcasts, social media, and published writing.
Today, Laurie is a mental health advocate supporting individuals and organizations throughout British Columbia. She uses her lived experience to push for more accessible and compassionate care. She hosts the podcast Super Feeler which combats mental health stigma, leads a global virtual peer support community called The Super Feelers Club, and works with BC Mental Health & Substance Use, where she developed and now leads a peer support program. She is also a surveyor with Accreditation Canada and a member of the Canadian College of Health Leaders.
Despite ongoing challenges, Laurie continues to show up in both her personal and professional roles with commitment and purpose. Her work focuses on improving systems of care and helping others feel supported, understood, and less alone.
Young Adult
Jacob Bredenhof
Diagnosed with aggressive bone cancer (osteosarcoma) at just 13 years old, Jacob’s life changed in an instant. As treatment began, he faced 17 rounds of intense chemotherapy, long hospital stays, and ultimately a life-altering leg amputation (rotationplasty). With much of his childhood and time at school interrupted, his early years followed a path far removed from the traditional experience.
Through it all, Jacob’s positivity and the unwavering support of his family carried him forward so did his faith in God. He spent more than 200 nights at BC Children’s Hospital and learned to adapt to life with a reconstructed leg and foot—meeting each challenge with resilience.
Today, Jacob lives as an amputee, using a prosthetic leg and navigating ongoing daily pain. While his mobility has changed, his outlook has not. He continues to move through life with strength and purpose.
That purpose has fueled his commitment to giving back. Jacob has been featured on the BC Children’s Hospital Miracle Weekend Telethon with Global News, helping raise over $5 million, and has also participated in the Variety Children’s Telethon. He has spoken at Ronald McDonald House, supporting families and raising funds for pediatric cancer research.
Most recently, Jacob trained for months to organize Pedal of Hope, a cycling fundraiser supporting the Terry Fox Foundation. Riding an adapted bike, he completed an incredible 105 km journey alongside about 50 riders from Abbotsford to Hope, including Darrell Fox. Together, they raised over $110,000. For Jacob, raising awareness and funds is deeply personal—he is driven by the hope that one day, no child will have to endure cancer as he did.
Jacob truly embodies the spirit of courage to come back using his story to uplift and inspire those around him.
Many kids I got to know have passed away from
childhood cancer, and if we can help save even one, then my journey has not
been in vain.
Addiction
Cole Izsak
I’m not sure if it was courage that brought me back—but come back, I have. I am a blessed man and immensely grateful for this second chance at life. I refuse to take a single day for granted.
After losing a partner during the height of the AIDS epidemic, Cole fell into years of addiction and hopelessness. What began as a way to cope led to deep isolation from family, friends, and a sense of self. In 2003, his chapter reached a turning point when he was incarcerated for possession and subsequently deported back to Canada where Cole had not been since he was 6 weeks old.
By 2011, life in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside had taken a severe toll. At 48, Cole made the decision to fully commit to recovery—marking the beginning of a new path grounded in healing, purpose, and hope.
In 2019, with a $9,000 loan from his parents, he opened Back on Track Recovery Home, also known as “The Fortress Against Evil.” There he developed the MECCA program (Motivation and Empowerment to Completely Cease Addiction), a structured, holistic approached, life-skills-based program that has supported thousands towards a better life through recovery.
Over the past decade, Cole has received many requests from women seeking support—yet resources were limited and waitlists long. In response, he opened the Robin’s Nest in Surrey in 2021, a women-led recovery home offering professional support in a nurturing environment where women can also reconnect with their children and families.
With growing demand, Cole’s operations expanded again in 2023, opening the Castle to support even more women on their path to recovery. And in June of this year, the Haven will open and offer supportive living to women who graduate the first stage program at the Castle
Today, Cole’s journey is a powerful testament to transformation. He’s creating spaces where others can heal, rebuild, and find hope. He is a man on a mission.
medical
Mark Stockbrocks
Just days before his 32nd birthday, Mark’s life changed in an instant. A congenital arteriovenous malformation (AVM) caused a massive brain bleed, leading to weeks in a coma at Vancouver General Hospital and two emergency brain surgeries. Once an athlete, world traveller, and English teacher in Japan, and having just completed firefighter training, he was suddenly faced with a new reality.
Following years of rehabilitation across multiple hospitals, Mark now lives with triplegia, with permanent paralysis in both legs and his left arm, and uses a power wheelchair for daily living. Fifteen years later, he continues to navigate ongoing health challenges, including epilepsy, chronic pain, and severe spasticity, managed through extensive treatment and a baclofen pump.
Known for his relentless drive, Mark lives by the belief that it is possible to “outhustle your problems.” He has channeled that mindset into action, leading a self funded grassroots mission to improve accessibility and inclusion. Through his Access Heroes project, public speaking, and community advocacy, he works to make spaces more accessible for wheelchair users.
His impact extends across sectors, serving on the City of Vancouver’s Persons with Disabilities Committee, collaborating with organizations like the Disability Foundation, Tetra Society, Spinal Cord Injury BC, the Neil Squire Society to develop adaptive technology, and contributing to accessible voting initiatives with Elections Canada. He is also a working actor and advocate for accessibility in the film industry, pushing for more inclusive sets and representation.
Through it all, Mark continues to transform lived experience into meaningful, practical change and lasting impact in various communities in Metro Vancouver.