Lauren Baron
BRANT NEWS

Four Brant-area groups are vying for a piece of a $1 million prize.

The Tamarra Cherryholme Foundation, Canadian Deafblind Association, Kids Can Fly and the Brant Community Cancer Clinic are four of thousands organizations across Canada taking part in the third annual Aviva Community Fund competition.

The competition offers $1 million to Canadians who want to lead, empower and support community initiatives across the country.

Groups from across Canada have submitted their community improvement ideas to the fund’s website and are now rallying for votes.

In Brantford, the Tamarra Cherryholme Foundation is seeking $100,000 to $150,000 toward its biggest project – grants to facilitate research toward non-invasive cancer treatments in pediatric oncology.

The foundation was founded in honour of Tanya Cherryholme’s daughter, Tamarra, who was diagnosed with cancer at age 17 and passed away at 18. Its goal is to provide a choice to children and young adults diagnosed with cancer by financially aiding families who wish to incorporate a naturopathic cancer care program.

Local children’s charity Kids Can Fly is seeking $100,000 to $150,000 for its Imagination Library. Founded by Dolly Parton in 1996, the library aims to help children gain strong reading and literacy skills while nurturing their creativity and imaginations.

The Aviva funds would help the Imagination Library program provide books to all 5,600 children under five years old in the community.

The Brant Community Healthcare Clinic, located at the Brantford General Hospital, is seeking $100,000 to $150,000 to purchase an Immunohistochemistry Stainer for its laboratory.

The state-of-the-art piece of equipment identifies types of tumours and verifies tumours are extracted during surgery, aiding in the appropriate treatment for patients.

The full-time Brant Community Healthcare cancer clinic serves more than 3,000 patients annually and expects to see a 70 per cent growth in patients during the next five years.

In Paris, the Canadian Deafblind Association is seeking $100,000 to $150,000 to build a sensory garden at its new resource centre.

Through scented and edible plants, sculptures, Braille plaques and other features, the garden will provide sensory opportunities for children and adults who are deafblind.

Voting in the first qualifying round of the Aviva competition ends on Oct. 15. Submissions with the most votes after three qualifying rounds will move on to the semifinals, which run from Dec. 3 to Dec. 12.

Winners will be announced on Jan 20, 2013. Visit www.avivacommunityfund.org to vote.