On September 28th, 2011 Betty Gelean of Smithers BC contacted us with the request to enter the Aviva Community Fund on our behalf. We where delighted with her initiative, but to be honest really didn't see much of a chance for her to succeed in this endeavor.
The Aviva Community Fund allocates funding to help make a positive impact in Canadian communities - whether that's through providing new opportunities for at-risk youth, education, helping the environment, or cultural activities - by funding local and national initiatives for change.
The funding is allocated by public voting and a Judges panel.
Betty worked hard on publicizing our new fundraiser and was aided by the arrival of Dawson and Clover our two media bears. All of a sudden our supporter group grew and a lot of people became involved in this project. Especially our Face book site ( Northern Lights Wildlife Shelter) was a and still is the hum of activity and Dorothy Avery became Betty's supporter in the Aviva quest, keeping the Face book site busy and entertaining and adding more and more people to the group.
To our absolute delight and surprise we advanced into the Semi-Finals, and then in a hair raising battle into the Finals. It was and still is an incredible journey. Our idea is now in front of a judges panel and the winners will be announced on January 25th, 2012
Winning would mean a new enclosure for the bears and water and power for all facilities!
No matter what the outcome is, Betty and all the other supporters, have reminded us that dreams are there to be pursued and that they can indeed come true. We re-connected with old friends and found many new ones along the way. According to the Aviva counter a total of 6977 individuals and 38 brokers have voted for our idea. We still have tears in our eyes when we look at those numbers. Thank you all, you have given us so much with your support and above all else have strengthened our resolve to be here for our wildlife in need!
