A St. Albert arena project and a program for at-risk youth are hoping for more votes from the public, as they continue to contend for a piece of the Aviva Community Fund.
A third project, to build a rock climbing facility in St. Albert, has also recently joined in on the race.
"We survived the first round and voting continues into the second round and then we are hoping to get into the final round of voting," said Joe Becigneul, referee in chief with the St. Albert Minor Hockey Association.
The Aviva Community Fund helps Canadians create "positive changes" for their community and has provided more than $4.5 million in funding for 91 charities and community groups in the past six years.
Funds are provided through numerous organizations, with different amounts allocated to the winning groups. Winners are selected based on how many votes are cast for each project. The total amount of money available for distribution is $1 million.
The second round of voting will run until Nov. 3.
Arena funds
The St. Albert Minor Hockey Association is looking for funding to upgrade the Akinsdale-Kinex twin arenas. In March, the association made the top 16 during the annual Kraft Hockeyville contest, earning $25,000.
Those funds have now been used to pay for the preliminary planning for new workout rooms in the arena, said Becigneul.
The workout rooms will be used to create rooms for players to warm up before the game and to upgrade the dressing rooms and office area, he said. But the association requires anywhere from $70,000 to $100,000 to complete the renovations, he said.
Becigneul said they were able to garner 121 votes in the first round of voting. He is urging the public to continue their support of the project by registering on the Aviva website and casting a vote for their project.
"Every day, hopefully," he said.
Youth program
The Wilderness Youth Challenge Program also made it into the second round and has achieved some success already.
Executive director Lee Eskdale said the program received a series of small donations in past weeks – unrelated to the community fund. He expects it came from a heightened awareness of the program and more visibility online.
"My gals are pumping up our Facebook and we are doing everything to promote it," he says.
The Wilderness Youth Challenge Program takes at risk youth into the wild for 10 days every year. There, the St. Albert-based program teaches them how to survive for six days, before the youth spend four days camping solo.
The intent is to provide them with higher self-esteem and better decision-making skills and prevent them from relapsing into crime, drug abuse or anti-social behaviour, said Eskdale.
The program is free and runs solely on donations. Eskdale said they hope to raise about $3000 through the fund. This would allow them to take three youth into the wild next summer.
Rock climbing
The Rock Climbing Facility St. Albert project was able to garner seven votes so far. A project overview online states that the facility would promote healthy active living for kids of all ages "and adults too."
"We don't have anything like it in St. Albert and it would be an exciting healthy way to get fit," wrote organizer Andrea.
The Gazette was not able to contact Andrea for more information before press time.
To cast a vote for each organization go to avivacommunityfund.org and search for St. Albert. You can learn more about each organization at www.wycp.org and www.samha.ab.ca.
