Simon Chang honoured by ‘Difference Maker’ recipients
Posted October 7, 2026 6:11 pm.
Since 2020, Montreal fashion designer and philanthropist Simon Chang has partnered with Inspiration’s newspaper to celebrate the people who changed lives with the Simon Chang Difference Maker Award. On Wednesday, many of them came together to honor him.
“I am a musician, so all of my compositions and the protections I’ve done theatrically and the theatre. I also give opportunities for those with special needs to basically make a change because I actually speak more than words. That’s why Simon saw that and recognized me for my services into charity across Quebec and Canada,” said Steven Atme, the Simon Chang Difference Maker Award recipient in 2021.
Lisa Trotto, the Simon Chang Difference Maker Award recipient in 2022, said, “I made a huge difference in my life because Simon Chang recognized not only the special needs community, but recognized the hard work that goes behind what teachers do on a day-to-day basis, like going out finding material for the students, researching projects. Many of those things that you don’t directly see day-to-day, but that goes behind the scenes.
“We had a theatre program and students were creating their own puppets. So they were learning to sew, how to cut fabric, how to measure, how to cut pieces of wood, and how to identify within that puppet. But he can make the change and make a difference. Simon Chang really helped our school and our students by his generous donation and students were able to create a fantastic art project, creating their own puppets which represented them, which fostered a sense of social-emotional learning. And it was a great tool for teachers to use by doing role play and teaching different skills in the classroom.”
Anna Gualtieri, the Simon Chang Difference Maker Award recipient in 2024, said, “What was recognized was my beauty corner that I have at the school. It’s a corner filled with beauty products, anything to help students boost their confidence, like deodorants and anything that they might be missing that they can find in the corner that would help them feel better about themselves.
“It made me believe that what I was doing was actually creating change for the students. And I see it even now. I still have my beauty corner and it’s still going strong and students come to me when they’re missing something. So by Simon Chang recognizing that made me realize like, oh wow, I’m actually doing something that’s helpful.”
Adding, “I’m proud of the fact that maybe I am creating a difference for even just some students. I think it’s important because I’m making that difference for them in their lives. Every small action means a lot to someone. So even the smallest thing that you can do can mean something huge for someone else. So just do it.”
