Aviva Canada announces recipients of its Community Fund competition

***CORRECTION: The Capital City Condors are from Kanata, Ontario, not ‘Kenora,’ as previously reported. Canadian Underwriter apologizes for the error.

Aviva Canada Inc. has announced the 10 recipients of its second Aviva Community Fund competition.

The competition awards a total of $1 million to diverse local projects in communities across the country.

Eligible projects were posted throughout the duration of the contest at, where viewers could scroll through the projects and cast votes in support of the ones most meaningful to them.

After several rounds of voting, the Top 30 ideas were determined and a panel of impartial judges reviewed the causes and selected the winners.

The winners of the 2010 Aviva Community Fund include:

• Capital City Condors (Kanata, Ont.): a special hockey team for kids with intellectual and/or physical disabilities.
• Crystal Bay Yard Improvement (Ottawa, Ont.): a place for children with various abilities to learn and grow. The funds will help build a yard with structures accessible to everyone.
• Deamcoat! The Joy is Contagious (North Bay, Ont.): a theatrical group that enables children to explore and share their love of the dramatic arts.
• Dream Playground (Rexton, NB): Rexton Elementary School requires a larger, more modern play stucture.
• Northwest Territories SPCA Northern Community Animal Shelter (Yellowknife, NWT): support from the fund will help create a much-needed and eco-friendly animal shelter for neglected and abandoned pets.
• Playground Activity Area (Essex, Ont.): the school plans to build its first fully accessible playground area for children and adults with special needs.
• Playground Legacy – 100 Years in the Community (Vancouver, BC): the shared space between two schools plans to rebuild its playground and create a welcome garden to celebrate children of all abilities;
• The Hill of Dreams (Tillsonburg, Ont.): the fund will help provide the students of South Ridge Public School with a new outdoor play area.
• Therapeutic Garden (Cleveland, Que.): The Wales Home, a non-profit organization which provides care to senior citizens is creating a therapeutic garden for its residents suffering with cognitive related dementias.
• Supporting families affected by cancer (Oshawa, Ont.): funding will help Hearth Place Cancer Support Centre expand its family support services, including music and art therapists, social workers and special retreat days.

The broker-supported idea earning support outside of the $1 million in funding went to ‘A Well Connected Knowledge Centre’ in Ottawa, Ontario. In association with Smith Petrie Carr and Scott Insurance Brokers Ltd., “The Well” will use the funding to provide a knowledge hub at a drop-in centre for women and children.