Heather Latter
The semi-final round of the Aviva Community Fund challenge gets underway Monday (Dec. 1) and Knox United Church here is hoping the community will help it reach the finals.
The church is seeking up to $100,000 in funding for its renewal project to make the building more accessible.
“[It] is a large, centrally-located building used by the entire community but currently it is not fully-accessible to people who use wheelchairs, motorized scooters, or other mobility aids,” the submission notes.
As a result, it says many people miss out on valuable family and community activities.
In order to rectify the situation, the church plans to install an elevator and barrier-free washrooms, with a price tag of about $160,000.
Final renovation plans have been approved and work is set to begin soon. But more funds still are needed.
Since learning last month that its submission had qualified for the semi-final round, the Knox fundraising committee has been promoting the competition and encouraging people to be ready to vote.
The voting period runs from Dec. 1-10.
“We’re not done promoting until Dec. 10,” said campaign co-chair Bill Gushulak, noting they have been urging people to register their e-mail accounts in advance.
“But our promotion will obviously continue through the voting period because if people sign on late, they can still get on board,” he noted.
Gushulak said they’ve been busy handing out flyers, talking to people, and spreading the word to help get as many votes as possible.
“We still have a lot of work to do this week as we approach the start of voting but we’ve had really favourable response everyone in the community,” he enthused.
“Knox United Church gets used by so many people that a lot of people can certainly buy into the fact that the elevator and washrooms are needed.”
Gushulak explained the Aviva competition is only part of the church’s fundraising efforts.
“We’re hoping we can get a shot-in-the-arm with a successful campaign, and by finishing in the top 20 to get to the boardroom table,” he remarked, noting if their submission can get to the finals, judges then determine who will receive a portion of the $1 million that Aviva is set to dole out.
But in order to advance to the finals, the community needs to keep voting each day for the duration of the period.
Knox’s idea will be up against 59 other submissions in its budget category.
“If we can aim to be in the top 10, that’s where we want to be,” Gushulak stressed.
“That’s what we’re shooting for.”
The fundraising committee will be at the “Festival of Frost” here this Saturday to remind people that voting will be starting up again.
They are encouraging people to send an e-mail to knoxrenewal@gmail.com and their address will be added to the list, so they’ll get an e-mail each day reminding them to vote.
Gushulak said people can get ready to vote by registering each of their e-mail addresses at www.avivacommunityfund.org
“If they voted already, they’re already registered,” he noted.
“But if they haven’t voted previously, then they will need to register.”
He indicated each person is allowed one vote per day per e-mail address.
“It’s important that they vote each day,” Gushulak stressed.
“They are allowed 10 votes, one per day, but if you miss two or three days, once the day has gone by, you lose that vote.
“If you don’t start voting until Wednesday [Dec. 3], you’ve lost Monday and Tuesday,” he explained.
“And if we have 500 or 600 people that miss that opportunity to vote, all of a sudden you are down 1,000 votes.
“So it’s really crucial that once people start voting, we’d really like to see them stick to it through the whole thing,” he said.
Gushulak noted in the qualifying rounds, some submissions were getting 1,000 votes a day.
“If we’re only getting 200 or 300 votes per day, we’ll be in their rear-view mirror,” he conceded.
“And we don’t want that to happen.”
Gushulak also is requesting that when they are voting, if people can take an extra minute and leave a quick comment, it could be helpful should Knox make it to the final round.
“It demonstrates to Aviva officials that we have the support of the community,” he remarked, adding it doesn’t have to be long—even something simply like “great project” or “keep it up.”
“Every comment helps,” he stressed.
Gushulak added they are trying to beef up their submission by adding videos and photo. So if people want to comment on those, it shows Aviva that people have spent some time on their website.
Gushulak also said if people need technical assistance with the voting process, Lowerys and Wilson’s Business Solutions will have staff on hand to assist.
“They have also volunteered to have computers available at the stores, and people will be able to go in there and vote using their e-mail address if they wish,” he noted.
The Fort Frances Public Library Technology Centre also will be offering assistance.
“The whole community is definitely behind us,” Gushulak enthused. “We’re just hoping everyone remembers to vote once Dec. 1 rolls around.”
Gushulak apologized if the message has been repetitive but they don’t want to let the opportunity slip by.
“This is our one shot at it,” he stressed. “It’s outside dollars coming into our community.
“We’ve seen this community come together in such a strong fashion for a variety of very worthwhile projects in the past. . . .
“So for us to be able to do something for a community building, we’re really excited and hope people come on board and support us.”
