Youth from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association received a certificate of recognition from the Town of Innisfil, Ontario, for shovelling residents’ driveways. (Image submitted by Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association)
Kids awarded by Ontario town for shovelling snow as part of their faith
Published 7 hours ago
Editorial Assistant
60 driveways down and more to go, say kids
While snow has piled up across Ontario, a group of kids has been shovelling dozens of driveways to help out their neighbours and honour their faith.
Now, their town is making sure their hard work doesn’t go unnoticed.
For weeks, about 20 youth from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association have shovelled driveways in Innisfil, Ontario, without accepting any money in return.
They say their hard work — which has earned them a certificate of recognition from their town north of Toronto — is a way of practising their faith in which community service is a core value.
The kids with AMYA received an award from Innisfil Mayor Lynn Dollin for their hard work shovelling driveways. (Image submitted by Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association)
60 driveways down
Haris Mahmood, who handles the administrative tasks for the Innisfil chapter of the association, suggested a way for the kids to help their community.
He started the project in 2024 to shovel driveways for seniors and those unable to do it themselves, with the goal of inspiring a habit of helping others among the association’s youth.
Kids clear snow from their neighbours’ driveways in Innisfil. (Image submitted by Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association)
The work often takes place on snow days, when schools are closed and many kids are sleeping in.
But that isn’t the case for these volunteers.
“Instead of sleeping in, we actually wake up early, get the houses done and we’re out until the evening,” Khaqan Ahmed, 17, told CBC Kids News.
Brothers Khaqan Ahmed, left, age 17, and Imran Ahmed, right, age 14, are two of the youth who shovelled driveways in Innisfil. (Image submitted by Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association)
Why their faith has led them to shovel
The kids say their motivation comes from their Islamic faith, which encourages helping others.
They point to one of the five pillars of Islam, zakat, which means almsgiving or charity.
These pillars represent the core beliefs and practices of Islam.
Khaqan told CBC Kids News that “Allah [God] helps his servant as long as a servant helps others,” which shows that “serving people brings Allah’s blessings in return.”
Town recognition and what’s next
This week, their efforts were recognized with a certificate of appreciation by the Town of Innisfil at a council meeting.
“As a council, we wanted to acknowledge the significant impact they made for residents who needed assistance,” said Mayor Lynn Dollin.
The kids say they plan to continue their efforts shovelling snow.
“We’re going to be continuing further until next year, and then the next year, and we don’t plan on stopping anytime soon,” said Khaqan.
Categories: Ahmadis, Ahmadiyyat: True Islam, America, Canada, Muslims