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Bright ideas can earn cash at Orillia's Choice Awards

Second annual event taking place May 31
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The Orillia’s Choice Awards are returning this month for a second year.

Organized by the Sunshine Initiative, the awards will see community members with big ideas make pitches to a panel of local judges in an effort to earn some funding to help make those dreams a reality.

During the May 31 event, five presenters will each have five minutes to make their case.

“It’s really great because it’s grassroots and it allows individuals to pitch an idea that may or may not be one that organizations have felt was worth doing,” said Valerie Powell, co-chair of the Sunshine Initiative. “It’s our own little Dragons’ Den of ideas.”

The panel of judges will include Gill Tillmann, Orillia’s 2017 Citizen of the Year, local journalist Mehreen Shahid; Geoff Campbell of Matchedash Lofts, and a youth representative from the Orillia Youth Centre. The audience will also get to have a say in who gets some cash. James Maxwell of Big Brothers Big Sisters will be the MC.

The majority of those who pitched their ideas at last year’s event were granted funding. That included the Repair Café, which saw people volunteer their services to repair various items for one another.

“It was successful, especially for a first effort,” Powell said, adding it led to other partners coming on board to ensure the program continues.

Ideas being presented this month include an Orillia greenhouse, an extension of local emergency mental health support, a local food directory, a French-language daycare centre and a community-led rooftop solar power installation.

Even if not all of the proposals receive funding, the Orillia’s Choice Awards allow people to present their ideas in a public setting and, possibly, receive support from individuals in attendance.

“Hopefully, this year, every idea has legs,” Powell said. “People can be pretty apathetic, so it’s good to have people get involved.”

The Orillia’s Choice Awards will take place at the Geneva Event Centre at 7 p.m. Admission is free, but organizers encourage those who plan to attend to register here. There will be a cash bar and complimentary snacks.

Keep up with the Sunshine Initiative on its Facebook page.


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Nathan Taylor

About the Author: Nathan Taylor

Nathan Taylor is the desk editor for Village Media's central Ontario news desk in Simcoe County and Newmarket.
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