Businessman Jim Spatz and Dalhousie student Mark Saldanha to receive humanitarian awards

NEWS RELEASE
CANADIAN RED CROSS
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The Canadian Red Cross this evening will present business leader and philanthropist Jim Spatz of Halifax with its 2019 Humanitarian Award for Nova Scotia in recognition of his work supporting community and humanitarian causes. 

Dalhousie University student Mark Saldanha of Halifax will receive the 2019 Young Humanitarian Award for Nova Scotia for his work supporting homeless and marginalized individuals. 

The awards will be presented at the Power of Humanity Awards dinner, a fundraising event at the Cunard Centre in Halifax with proceeds supporting Canadian Red Cross services throughout Nova Scotia.

Additional details about the recipients and event are online at redcross.ca/humanitarianNS. 

Spatz spent 13 years as a physician until 1987 when he joined his family's business, Southwest Properties Ltd., becoming chair and CEO and he now serves as executive chair. He's always made giving back to his community a priority personally as well as through his companies and the Spatz Foundation, supporting a wide range of educational, health, cultural and community causes. 

He served on the board of governors of Dalhousie University from 2001-2015 including six years as chair and provided in honour of his parents the lead gift to establish at Dalhousie the Simon and Riva Spatz Visiting Chair in Jewish Studies. His support to Mount St. Vincent University includes the Riva Spatz Women's Wall of Honour, which is the garden centerpiece of the Margaret Norrie McCain Centre for Teaching, Learning and Research. 

Examples of the many other causes he supports are the Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia, the Canadian Museum for Immigration, the Canadian Red Cross and Neptune Theatre, which has honoured Spatz as a Life Director. He serves on the board of directors of the Halifax Port Authority and is a founding partner of Creative Destruction Lab-Atlantic, which provides mentorship and seed funding to early-stage companies linked to university research labs. 

Saldanha is the founder and president of a non-profit, youth-driven organization called Greater Love, which befriends and supports those experiencing homelessness or are otherwise marginalized. Greater Love has grown to more than 100 members, primarily university or high school students in Nova Scotia. It recently became a registered non-profit and hopes to soon open chapters in Ontario and  British Columbia. 

Saldanha's passion for helping others started in junior high school as a volunteer at the IWK Health Centre. In high school, he led a campaign that encouraged youth to engage in civic duties and directed a program where students volunteered with Feed Nova Scotia and Ronald McDonald House. 

A Humanitarian Award and Young Humanitarian Award are presented by the Canadian Red Cross annually in Nova Scotia to individuals who demonstrate the spirit of humanity in a local, national or international capacity and whose volunteerism, advocacy or philanthropy and leadership inspires others to pursue humanitarian goals consistent with the fundamental principles of the Red Cross. 
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