NEWS RELEASE
EMPOWER SIMCOE FOUNDATION
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BARRIE – Empower Simcoe is announcing that its annual Celebrating Community Champions Fashion Show, scheduled for Oct. 22, will now be an online event. Starting Sept. 10, supporters are invited to raise funds and donate to the Empower Simcoe Foundation over the next six weeks. Then, instead of a live Fashion Show, Empower Simcoe will premiere a new, professionally-produced video presentation at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 22. There is no fee to register as a fundraiser or to watch the video presentation.
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced all charities to cancel or shift their fundraising events, including Empower Simcoe. Earlier this year, the group was forced to cancel its annual golf tournament. Volunteers and staff wanted to avoid calling off the Fashion Show as well, but knew that having a sit-down indoor event for hundreds of people during the pandemic would not be possible. Thus, out of necessity, Empower Simcoe’s Celebrating Community Champions 2020 – A Virtual Giving Event was born.
The proceeds from Celebrating Community Champions 2020 will support Empower Simcoe’s work to improve the quality of life for people of all abilities and to foster an inclusive society. Donations to the Empower Simcoe Foundation help pay for new mobility and accessibility equipment, respite care for families, recreational and educational programming for youth and adults with intellectual disabilities, and much more. The fundraising effort kicks off on September 10 and continues to Oct. 22. Organizers hope to raise at least $20,000, matching the proceeds of the annual Fashion Show that the Virtual Giving Event is replacing.
The live video that premieres on Thursday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. will share the Fashion Show’s focus on celebrating community champions – people supported by Empower Simcoe who have made a unique contribution to improving the lives of others. The video will feature other special guests, and highlight Empower Simcoe’s frontline workers who have been indispensable in keeping the people they support safe during the pandemic. In the spirit of the Fashion Show, the Celebrating Community Champions 2020 video will be lively, entertaining, fast-paced, and inspirational.
For more information and registration visit empowersimcoe.ca/virtual-giving-event. The live video will be hosted on this page and on other streaming platforms. Supporters are encouraged to organize watch parties to view the video from their own homes and comment on it in real time.
Empower Simcoe’s Celebrating Community Champions 2020 is presented by RBC Wealth Management Dominion Securities, the Kiwanis Club of Barrie, RTO-ERO District 17, Royal LePage First Choice Realty, the Optimist Club of Barrie, the Cowan Group, and other community-minded sponsors.
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