What’s New: In Brief (December 22, 2009)

Aviva Canada Inc. has posted on YouTube its Top 25 finalists for the first-ever Aviva Community Fund online contest.
Aviva is putting up Cdn$500,000 to help fund ideas that seek to lead, empower and support positive change in Canadian communities. 
After eight weeks, the 25 most popular entries across the country have been selected among more than 2,000 contest entries.
A panel of impartial judges will assess the finalists’ ideas based on their feasibility and costs.
The winners of the Aviva Community Fund competition will be announced on Jan. 25, 2010.
The finalists are included in a YouTube video montage called ‘Meet The Finalists–Aviva Community Fund’ posted at: http://www.youtube.com/user/avivacommunityfund.

CARSTAR owners Paul Appleman of Port Hope and Dennis Carlini of Windsor will each carry the Olympic torch in the Vancouver 2010 Torch Relay.
Appleman was selected to be one of 12,000 torchbearers creating a path of northern lights along the 45,000-kilometre journey to the Olympic flame.
Appleman has been organizing charitable runs in his local community for the past 28 years. To date, he has helped to raise nearly Cdn$1 million dollars.
Carlini will be carrying the Olympic torch through his community on Dec. 23.