• Awarded on: November 24, 2004

Cody Welsh Clark, Kemptville, Ontario
Governor General's Caring Canadian Award


At the age of 10, Cody Clark knows first-hand what it is like to be hospitalized or to see a loved one dealing with grave illness. His response has been to help others in such a situation, and the help he has given is remarkable. He raises thousands of dollars each year for the Heart and Stroke Foundation and other charities. He collected over 2500 signatures of Ottawa schoolchildren for a petition opposing the closure of the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario's cardiac unit. He has developed "Cody's Individual Comfort Kits" to ease the hospital experience for children or for seniors without families to care for them. Cody's wish is to distribute such kits to all children's hospitals across Canada.