Deborah Jean O'Connor, Cobourg, Ontario
Governor General's Caring Canadian Award
Ms. Deborah O'Connor has worked, volunteered and advocated since 1986 on behalf of people in need of assistance, housing or employment. She has been an active member, and in some cases co-founder, of a number of Northumberland County organizations concerned with the welfare of the region's residents. Her activities have helped provide school children with adequate food and clothing. As a founding member and volunteer tutor with a literacy council, Ms. O'Connor also spent two years helping an adult with developmental disabilities learn to read.