There’s no doubt 2020 has brought many challenges none of us ever expected. But with it also came many opportunities to rethink the norm and as a result, many creative solutions.

Atlantic Lottery’s sponsorship team encountered one such opportunity when faced with the reality of nearly all festivals and events across Atlantic Canada being cancelled this year.

Festivals and events are one of the most important facets of Atlantic Lottery’s sponsorship program. Every year, Atlantic Lottery sponsors hundreds of events across Atlantic Canada that help celebrate all the things that make our region so unique.

The sponsorship team was determined to find a way to continue to make an impact across the region and felt that local charitable organizations needed the most support during this time.

“In March when the whole world felt like it was shutting down, we knew we had to do something,” said Abbey MacDonald, sponsorship marketing specialist at Atlantic Lottery. “This was the perfect opportunity as charitable groups needed support now more than ever.”

The Community Proud contest took place on social media and asked Atlantic Canadians to nominate a charity that they felt does important work in their community. Winning charities, which were selected randomly from all nominations, would receive a one-time donation of $5,000 and the nominator would receive a VIP festival package for a future Atlantic Lottery-sponsored event. There were three waves of the contest, with a winner selected in each province for each wave, making a total of 12 charitable organizations that received a $5,000 donation.

Here’s a look at those that benefitted in each wave of the contest:

Wave 1

NB: Food Depot Alimentaire, nominated by Katie Buck

NS: ALS Society of NB and NS, nominated by Linda Scott

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NL: The Gathering Place, nominated by Donna Steeves

PEI: Santa’s Angels, nominated by Terry Woodhouse

Wave 2

NB: Fredericton SPCA, nominated by Kyle Kilfillen

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NS: Hope for Wildlife, nominated by Audrey Smith

NL: Choices for Youth, nominated by Natasha Sullivan

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PEI: Gifts from the Heart, nominated by Terry McKeough

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Wave 3

NB: Romero House, nominated by Diane Edison

NS: Big Brothers Big Sister of Pictou County, nominated by Diane Martine

NL: Iris Kirby House, nominated by Emily Barnett

PEI: Hospice PEI, nominated by Margot Postma

While AL’s sponsorship team missed festival season this year, MacDonald says that the Community Proud contest is one she will never forget.

“When I called each charitable organization, I never told them that we were coming to make a donation. All I said was that we wanted to do an interview with them to learn about their industry,” MacDonald said. “So when were on-site and revealed their big cheques for $5,000, you couldn’t beat that moment.

“Every single charity we visited was beyond grateful for the support. I can’t begin to put into words how amazing this contest was. I get goosebumps just thinking about it.”