Great effort

There likely were plenty of crossed fingers around town this afternoon as Knox United Church waited to learn if it had advanced to the final round of the Aviva Community Challenge Fund—and a shot at the $100,000 grand prize.
Ranked in 14th place in its category as of last night, Knox was sitting on the bubble to move on heading into the final day of voting in the semi-final round. Hopefully, a last-ditch push by local supporters before voting closed at 3 p.m. (CST) was enough to keep its bid alive.
Regardless of the outcome, however, the response was admirable by local residents, who came together over the past 10 days (not to mention the previous round of voting) to help the church try to land outside funding to make the building more accessible, which includes installing an elevator and barrier-free washrooms.
It is a costly project—and certainly every dollar garnered brings it a step closer to fruition.
The widespread support of residents, which clearly extended far beyond just Knox parishioners, indicates the importance the building serves as a venue to the community, from weddings and funerals to events like the annual music and drama festival and community Christmas dinner.
Fort Frances and area has rallied to the cause before—most recently in support of the “I Am Awesome (and I know it)” girls’ retreat and, previously, the Fort Frances Curling Club, which ultimately led to a live broadcast of TSN’s SportsCentre here.
This past winter also produced our best showing yet to be crowned “Hockeyville.”
The community answered the call yet again—and, if all goes well today, it will propel Knox into the final round of the Aviva competition.