OWEN SOUND – With just days to go, the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Grey Bruce branch is closing in on a finalist spot for a national funding competition. Now, the CMHA needs your help for one last push to get there. Out of 59 projects nationwide, CMHA Grey Bruce’s food forest program is fighting hard to remain a finalist in the Aviva Community Fund contest. The top five make it to the next stage and are eligible for $100,000 of funding.
Finalists are chosen based on the number of online votes cast. People can register and vote at voteforcmhafoodforest.ca between now and Friday.
“Every vote is vital and yours matters to us,” said Claude Anderson, Executive Director of CMHA Grey Bruce. “Securing this funding would help our program expand by better serving our clients and ensuring more fresh produce is served to the people of Grey Bruce.”
The food forest at St. George’s Park has been a community hub for three years. It includes a fruit orchard and 70 raised garden beds for vegetables, herbs and other edible plants. CMHA Grey Bruce’s 12 client gardeners assist with planting, tending to and harvesting the crops. The fruit and vegetables are sold at local markets and used in a community brunch program that provides nutritional meals to about 60 people daily, Monday to Friday.
If successful for an Aviva Community Fund grant, the branch will use the money to get a kick-start on implementing a three-year plan which includes hiring a horticulturalist, adding pathways, building a storage shed and herb-drying station, putting up new fencing to enclose the orchard, installing washrooms and building additional parking.
Help the CMHA Grey Bruce food forest program flourish. Vote today at voteforcmhafoodforest.ca. Voting closes Friday.
The Aviva Community will announce finalists on Nov. 7 and winners on Dec. 6.
About CMHA Grey Bruce:
Since 1963, CMHA Grey Bruce has played an important role in community-based programs, services, and public education. Our mission is to provide programs and services that support the resilience and recovery of people experiencing mental disorders, and to enhance, maintain, and promote the mental and emotional health of all individuals in Grey and Bruce counties. We are dedicated to improving the lives of people with lived experience of mental illness, yet our goal is also to achieve mental health for all. We accomplish this mission through advocacy, education, and services.
-30-
For more information or to arrange an interview, contact:
April Robinson
Fundraising & Event Coordinator
CMHA Grey Bruce
arobinson@cmhagb.org