Tbaytel's Newsroom

Friday, June 18, 2021

For Immediate Release

Thunder Bay, Ont. (June 18, 2021) – Tbaytel has wrapped up its largest Tbaytel for Good Community Fund campaign ever with three $10,000 winners being announced Friday. More than 213,543 votes from May 31 to June 11 were cast for the three winners, who will now put a total of $30,000 to great use throughout northern Ontario. Out of respect for social distancing and community safety, the Tbaytel for Good Community Fund winners were announced virtually this year.

“The ideas, generosity and community spirit out there in northern Ontario that we see through the Tbaytel for Good Community Fund is always inspiring for us at Tbaytel. With this brand new $10,000 award we wanted people in our communities to dream big and that is exactly what they did,” said Tbaytel Communication Coordinator Jamie Smith.

“Every one of the dozens of submissions we received would have made an excellent addition to the communities we serve and make us proud to be northerners. We want to thank all of the people and organizations involved for their participation and commitment to northern Ontario.”

This year Harvest Kenora received the most votes to provide amenities so people of all abilities and demographics can learn to garden. Their community rallied behind them and voted 41,961 times to make sure one of three Tbaytel For Good Community Fund $10,000 prizes headed their way.

"The Harvest Kenora Collective is overjoyed to be receiving the Tbaytel for Good Community Fund grant. These funds will go a long ways toward making our Collective Micro-Farm more accessible and equipped to educate about the full-cycle of food production on-site. We were absolutely blown away and heartened by the support that our project received from our community and would like to thank all of those who gave their time and energy to supporting our campaign. We look forward to sharing our garden space, produce and soon-to-be-purchased tools with more folks in our community, and to continue expanding the impact of Homerun Gardens." Erin Beulah of Harvest Kenora said. 

Based on the number of votes received, the full list of winners are:

• Harvest Kenora – Make Gardening Accessible to All – Kenora, ON
  Harvest Kenora operates a Collective Micro-Farm, called Homerun Gardens, which serves as a skill-share venue for new and experienced gardeners.  This grant will allow the group to increase accessibility by providing amenities to allow people of all abilities and demographics to enjoy the garden.  As well, the funding will allow for resources to better serve, educate and enable those who wish to grow food for themselves and others.

• St. Basil's Catholic School - Accessible Playground Equipment – White River, ON

The proposed new, accessible and sensory-friendly playground equipment will serve both the St. Basil’s Catholic School and the community of White River.  Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and those who struggle with mobility and/or accessibility will have a safe place to play with their peers and families.

• Hammarskjold High School - The Viking Room – Thunder Bay, ON

The Viking Room will be a multi-use hub to support co-curricular activities throughout the school.  This inclusive space will see intramural programming before/after school and at lunch time, as well as accommodate student-led activities such as event planning, team building activities and a general meeting space available to all students.

Videos and descriptions of the 2021 winners and past Tbaytel for Good Community Fund winners can be viewed at www.tbaytelforgood.net.

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