Delaila Salem

Delaila Salem is an extraordinary young leader whose impact has been deeply felt across BGC Ottawa and the wider community. She founded Sidelines with Delaila, a youth-led media platform that shines a spotlight on athletes in the BGC Ottawa Summer League. She began by covering Summer League games, recording highlights, interviewing players and coaches, capturing crowd reactions, and creating engaging social media content that celebrated youth achievement. This has led her to expand her platform beyond the club, interviewing high-profile athletes such as Marial Shayok, Ottawa’s first NBA draft pick, covering other sports like football, and featuring inspiring individuals from the community. Her work has amplified underrepresented voices, inspired pride, and fostered stronger connections across our clubhouses and beyond.

Her authenticity and courage in sharing her lived experiences have deeply resonated with audiences and attracted new support for BGC Ottawa. She represents the power of youth voice in philanthropy that mobilizes community pride, inspiring hope, and proving that young people can drive meaningful change.

Her willingness to speak out encourages other youth, especially girls and Black students, to step into the spotlight too. She mentors younger members, showing them how to turn their personal stories into powerful tools for community building and fundraising.

Nominated by BGC Ottawa.

As one of Ottawa’s largest child and youth-serving charitable organizations, BGC Ottawa provides free life-changing programs and services to more than 12,000 young people each year.