Giant can-sculpture competition moving to Georgia St. to help Food Bank
One CAN make a difference! Between March 26 - April 4 visit CANstruction to help fight hunger in your community
VANCOUVER, March 19, 2012 /CNW/ - Organizers of CANstruction® Vancouver are announcing a new concept for its annual design-build sculpture competition held in support of the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society. In celebration of its tenth year, the competition is moving uptown where the public is invited to come and view giant sculptures made entirely of cans of food displayed at four locations along Georgia Street, between Thurlow and Granville.
"We liked the idea celebrating our big anniversary with a multi-venue exhibition that's closer to the downtown action. With four great venues for the public to visit it will help us take a big bite out of hunger in our community, raise money for the Food Bank and bring in tens of thousands of cans of healthy food for those in need," said Janice Podmore, CANstruction® co-chair.
It's shocking to us that over one third of the Food Bank's recipients are children. While Canstruction is an exciting and slightly wacky design competition, we take it seriously - the needs at the Food Bank are just so great.
Over that past nine years, thanks to our teams, sponsors and volunteers, CANstruction® Vancouver has raised 1,056,000 cans in support of the Vancouver Food Bank Society. We plan to "build" on that in 2012 by bringing CANstruction into the heart of Vancouver, close to shopping, businesses and transit," said Podmore.
CANstruction® admission is free but visitors are encouraged to make a small cash donation to the Food Bank. For every $1 donated, the Food Bank, with the help of their suppliers, can buy up to $3 worth of food.
34 companies, schools and associations will come together to form 20 teams, each building a sculpture with food they are donating to the Food Bank. "This fun event gives us all a chance to get to know our fellow employees a little bit better while volunteering together on a very worthwhile cause," said Ferenc Pataki, FortisBC team captain. "CANstruction is an ideal opportunity for all of us, from many different companies, to team up to achieve a common goal - helping alleviate hunger in our community."
All teams will be vying for the 14 national and local CANstruction awards. This includes the Vancouver Sun's People's Choice Award - everyone is invited to cast their vote by visiting the paper's online contest site.
2012 CANstruction Venues:
- Four Season's Hotel (Georgia at Howe)
- HSBC Pendulum Gallery (Georgia at Hornby)
- The 1075 W. Georgia Building (Georgia at Thurlow)
- FortisBC Building (Georgia at Thurlow)
About CANstruction® Vancouver
CANstruction® Vancouver is the local chapter of CANstruction, a global anti-hunger project, a trademarked event held in over 190 cities worldwide. www.canstructionvancouver.com or canstruction.org
About The Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society
The Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society provides food and related assistance to over 25,000 people each week, and over 8,000 of these clients are children. The organization serves Burnaby, New Westminster, Vancouver and the North Shore and relies solely on the generosity of individuals and organizations willing to donate funds, food and time. www.foodbank.bc.ca
Photos of previous year's sculptures available, or visit us on facebook.
QUICK CAN FACTS
Competition year | 10th |
# cans of food raised to date | 1,056,423 |
# sculptures expected | 20 + daily builds |
# cans of food raised in 2011 | 95,090 |
# sculptures built since 2003 | 169 |
# cans of protein in 2011 (estimate) | 90,335 |
Average food value per sculpture | $6,539.68 |
Weight of food donated in 2011 | 54,400 pounds |
Estimated value of food raised in 9 years | $1,922,666 |
Media Contacts:
Janice Podmore, CANstruction Co-Chair 604 323-3404 [email protected]
Doug Aason, Greater Vancouver Food Bank 604 968-3596 [email protected]
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