Aviva Canada: Want to make a difference in your community? Aviva Community Fund returns with a $1 million pledge

19 June, 2012

?The hard work was worth it,? said Dave Nussbaumer of insurance brokerage Farrell Agencies, and lead organizer of the Yorkton (SK) Skateboard Park initiative. ?We mobilized the students and entire community, proved that our project was worthwhile and ended up with $150,000 for a skateboard park in an area devastated by flooding.?

Nussbaumer is referring to his community?s winning of $150,000 from the 2011 Aviva Community Fund. The Yorkton Skateboard Park was one of 12 winners to share in the 2011 Aviva Community Fund?s $1 million prize. ?The community and its youth will benefit from this park for decades to come,? continued Nussbaumer.

Aviva Canada, one of the country?s leading providers of home, automobile, recreational vehicle, group and business insurance, is proud to announce that the Aviva Community Fund competition will return in the fall of 2012.

The company will once again offer $1 million to encourage Canadians to lead, empower and support community initiatives across the country. Whether it?s a project that will help get at-risk youth off the street and back into school, or other ways to extend a hand to those in need, the Aviva Community Fund enables individuals and groups to not only submit a community initiative for funding, but also become actively involved in making change happen.

Launched in the fall of 2009, the Aviva Community Fund competition has already provided over $2.5 million in funding to 31 charities and community groups including youth programs, animal shelters, public schools, camps and centres for those affected by disabilities or illness.

In the competition?s first three years, Canadians overwhelmingly answered the call proposing over 6,000 ideas and casting more than six million votes in support of causes from every province and territory.

New to the competition this year is a specific prize of up to $150,000 for Canadian community groups or charities that support homeless and at-risk youth programs. Also within the program again this year is up to $150,000 in funding for initiatives specifically supported by insurance brokers.
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Canadians are encouraged to submit their ideas on the competition?s website ? www.avivacommunityfund.org. Visitors to the site are asked to vote for their favourite ideas so they can advance through to the competition?s final round, where they will be evaluated by an independent panel of judges.

Do your local youth centres or seniors? groups need support? Are you ready to make a difference? Year four of the competition kicks off on September 24, 2012, public voting on ideas starts October 1. Visit www.avivacommunityfund.org for news, to sign up for campaign updates and to learn more about how to get involved. Also visit, and Like, the Aviva Community Fund Facebook page for additional program information.

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About Aviva Canada
Aviva Canada is one of the leading Property and Casualty insurance groups in Canada providing home, automobile, recreational vehicle, group and business insurance to more than three million customers. A wholly-owned subsidiary of UK-based Aviva plc, the world's sixth-largest insurance group, the company has more than 3,000 employees, 25 locations and 1,700 independent broker partners. Aviva Canada and its employees invest in positive change including through the Aviva Community Fund and Eva's Initiatives, its partner in Aviva's global Street to School program to help homeless and other at-risk youth reach their potential.

For more information visit AvivaCanada.com, our blog or our Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn pages.

For more information contact:
Media
Glenn Cooper
Senior Manager, Public Relations & Social Media
Aviva Canada Inc.
Mobile (416) 523-3225
Desk: (416) 288-2685
Glenn_cooper@avivacanada.com

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