$1 million reasons to celebrate

Aviva Canada announces the 2014 Aviva Community Fund winners

TORONTO, Jan. 27, 2015 /CNW/ - The Aviva Community Fund – Canada's longest running online community funding competition, has wrapped up another year with Aviva Canada donating $1 million to create positive change in communities across Canada. Winners were announced live this morning on CTV's Canada AM broadcast.

Forty inspiring ideas entered the competition finals representing causes that range from creating storage space for Vancouver's homeless population, to enhancing a high school field to make it more accessible to a growing Ontario community, to renovating a beloved camp in Quebec.

Congratulations to the grand prize winners of the 2014 Aviva Community Fund:

• Restoring Golden Hall - Health benefits for all, Trepassey, NL
• Hope begins with a meal #SoulHarbour, Halifax, NS
• A home for the Joshua Group – Kathy's wish, Saint John, NB
• Sauvons le Camp De La Salle, Saint-Alphonse-Rodriguez, QC
• A special needs playground for Ottawa, Ottawa, ON
• Heart of the community – Cambridge, ON (Broker Grand Prize winner, submitted by Stevenson and Hunt Insurance Brokers Limited)
• Klahine - a Goderich Lions Club camp, Goderich, ON
• Ashley Neufeld Softball Sports Complex, Brandon, MB
• Saint Andre Playground Project, Beaumont, AB
• Storage for the homeless, Vancouver, BC
• A new home for Lake Country Food Bank, Lake Country, BC
• Nootka Elementary School outdoor playground, Vancouver, BC

"It's been another fantastic year with so many ideas submitted for positive change," says Debora Hendrickson, Aviva's Senior Vice President, Customer & Marketing. "The winners selected by our judging panel represent initiatives that really resonated with Canadians and we couldn't be more thrilled that the $1 million fund is being shared by so many worthy causes."

Grand prize winners were selected by a panel of independent judges after millions of votes were cast by Canadians during the four voting rounds. The remaining 28 finalists each received $5,000 towards their cause or a registered charity of their choice doing similar work.

In addition, 60 Wildcard prizes were drawn from the pool of ideas that reached 1,000 or more votes in each of the three qualifying rounds and each winner receives a $1,000 prize.

For the full list of prize winners, visit AvivaCommunityFund.org.

It's never too early to start thinking of an idea for the next Aviva Community Fund. Go to the competition's website, Facebook and Twitter pages for more information.

About the Aviva Community Fund
Created in 2009, the Aviva Community Fund is a competition that asks Canadians to submit and vote for ideas that create positive change in their communities. The Fund has now provided more than $5.5 million to 101 charities and community groups including youth programs, playgrounds, public schools, camps and centres for those affected by disability or illness.

About Aviva Canada
Aviva Canada is one of the leading property and casualty insurance groups in Canada providing home, auto, recreational vehicle, group and business insurance to more than three million customers. The Company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of UK-based Aviva plc and has more than 3,000 employees, 25 locations and 1,700 independent broker partners.

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

SOURCE Aviva Canada Inc.

For further information: Media Contact: Alison Steele, Manager, Corporate Affairs, Aviva Canada Inc., Mobile [phone], Desk: 416 730 3931, [e-mail]