Canadians Identify the Top 25 Aviva Community Fund Ideas

Aviva embarks on the last phase of the Aviva Community Fund competition to allocate $500,000 to improve and strengthen Canadian communities

TORONTO , Dec. 22 /CNW/ - Aviva Canada Inc. congratulates the top 25 semi-finalists of the first ever Aviva Community Fund - a unique competition that seeks to lead, empower and support positive change in Canadian communities.

In October 2009 , the Aviva Community Fund set out to find Canada's best ideas to create positive change in our communities. Centred around the online portal www.avivacommunityfund.org, Canadians were asked to submit ideas and vote for things that they would like to change at a local or national level - and Canadians across the country stepped up to the challenge. Over 2,000 ideas were submitted, with representation from every Canadian province, and now the 25 most popular entries are advancing to the judging phase of the competition.

Aviva's panel of impartial judges will review all of the finalist ideas, and after assessing their feasibility and costs, will inevitably make the tough decision of determining which ideas will get funding. The winners of the Aviva Community Fund competition will be announced on January 25, 2010 .

"What has been truly empowering about the Aviva Community Fund has been seeing communities banding together to vote for each others' ideas and support the common good," said Bob Fitzgerald , Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing & Underwriting Officer at Aviva Canada . "Our panel of impartial judges now have the hard task of reviewing the ideas and ranking them, so we can allocate the $500,000 towards making these projects come to life."

The Aviva Community Fund finalists are listed below by province and are also included in a YouTube video montage called Meet The Finalists - Aviva Community Fund.

    
    National
    -   More Effective Community Work, Millennium Network
    -   No One Left Behind - Personne Laissé de Côté, John Rietveld, Canada
        Foundation

    British Columbia
    -   Make Our Dream a Reality, South Slope/BCSD PAC Executive
    -   Gabriola Island Emergency Care Facility, Judith Graham, Gabriola
        Health Care Society

    Alberta
    -   Out of the Ashes ... Mayerthorpe Exhibition Centre, Mayerthorpe
        Exhibition Centre Replacement Project, Town of Mayerthorpe

    Saskatchewan
    -   Joe's Place-Hungry For Hope, Joe Dueck, Joe's Place Youth Centre

    Ontario
    -   Youth Media Vision, Dr. Springett, Rivers Living Water Centre
    -   DreamLoveCure, Robert Dyer, Skate4Cancer
    -   Prison Yard Playground, Elizabeth Barnett, King George School
    -   Music Care Conference, Bev Foster, Room 217 Foundation
    -   Time for a Paradigm Shift: New Energy Solutions We Can All Adopt,
        Marc Dubeau, Osgoode Township High School
    -   Pregnant Teen Shelter in Durham Region, Marion Cozens
    -   Creating a Circle of Hope, Meagan's Hug, Down MacDonald
    -   The Children's Storefront Helps Children and Families, Krista Ellis,
        The Children's Storefront
    -   Hopeful Documentary / Documentaire D'espoir, Reach Lesotho, Student
        Reach International
    -   SOS: Sink or Swim, Heidi Wilson, Let's Make Waves
    -   Charity CHAMPS - Spread The Spirit of Giving!, Kevin Wong, Charity
        CHAMPS

    Quebec
    -   Bibliothèque Municipale Scolaire, Sophie Michaud, Conseil
        d'Établissement École Centrale St-Samuel, Qc
    -   The 2nd Act Program, Trudi Yorgan, Second Act
    -   Noël Vert Pour Tous, Stephane Racine, Consortium Evolution
    -   Théâtre Multimédia Pour Les Ecoles Défavorisées De La CSPI, Jonathan
        Pronovost, Les Productions Qu'en dit Raton?
    -   Redonner Une Voix Aux Enfances Muettes, Sarah Deschêne

    New Brunswick

    -   Cachet D'antan, Sauvegarde D'un Monument Historique

    Nova Scotia
    -   The Thirsty Church, Amanda Langille

    Prince Edward Island

    -   Building a Lodge for Camp Triumph, Megan Brown, Camp Triumph

    

About Aviva Canada

Aviva Canada Inc. is one of the leading Property and Casualty insurance groups in Canada , providing home, automobile and business insurance to more than three million customers. Our group of companies has more than 3,300 employees, 40 locations and more than 3,000 independent broker partners. Aviva Canada products and services are delivered across the country under the following brands: Aviva, Aviva Pilot, Aviva Traders, Aviva Elite, Aviva Scottish & York and through S&Y Insurance Company. Aviva Canada Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of UK-based Aviva plc, the world's fifth largest insurance group, and was recently recognized by Waterstone Human Capital as having one of Canada's ten most admired corporate cultures. Please visit us at avivacanada.com, changeinsurance.ca or avivacommunityfund.org.

For further information: Media Contacts: Sarah Van Lange, Fleishman-Hillard, Senior Consultant, Desk: [phone] or [phone], [email protected]