Nursing student receives funding and recognition for community impact by Mazda Canada

Second year UCalgary Nursing student Bill Zheng, already on the "nursing" map as an organizer of two Pop Up Care Villages providing information and resources for vulnerable Calgary populations, has just become a Mazda Rising Legend.

Zheng is one of five Canadian recipients of $50,000 each and the only Albertan. Expanding on their Local Legends program which started in 2021, Mazda Canada designed their Rising Legends program to celebrate youth who have started innovative projects to benefit their communities. 

"I will be using this fund to create a mobile hygiene unit for people experiencing homelessness in Calgary," Zheng says of his award. 

Mazda received hundreds of submissions from across the country and chose recipients from BC, Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick in addition to Zheng.