Field Law, a western and northern regional law firm, is excited to announce the Southern Alberta winners of the Field Law Community Fund Program (the Program). This year, the Program celebrated its fifth year of supporting local community initiatives in Southern Alberta, Northern Alberta and the Northwest Territories. Field Law awarded one grand prize and two additional awards to community projects in the Southern Alberta market. 

The Community Fund Program supports community initiatives in the markets in which Field Law operates. In 2017, the Program will distribute a total of $75,000 to community initiatives, with $30,000 going to each of the Northern and Southern Alberta markets and $15,000 going to the Northwest Territories market. This year’s grand prize winner is the Read Well, Think Well Initiative, with additional awards granted to Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society (AARCS) and Soup Sisters.

The 2017 Program received nearly 100 applications and a record turnout for online voting. Winners of the Program are decided by a community judging panel and public voting. This year, the Program earned a record-breaking total of 50,018 votes across all three markets, with 34,953 votes in the Southern Alberta market.

“Field Law is proud of how much the Program has grown, and how active each of our markets is in the voting process,” says Doreen Saunderson, Firm Managing Partner of Field Law. “Breaking our previous public voting records demonstrates genuine investment from the Southern Alberta community, and we look forward to seeing how this year’s winners will make an impact.”

Field Law is pleased to announce the following winners of the 2017 Community Fund Program:

“Read Well, Think Well”: GRAND PRIZE WINNER - $15,000

The Read Well, Think Well Initiative has set out a bold vision- all children in Calgary are reading well by the end of grade 3. For many low-income children, learning barriers emerge early, due to limited access to book or language-rich homes or high-quality learning experiences. The Initiative provides family learning-based reading intervention in a small group setting (WordPlay Program) and individually (Learning Starts at Home Program). One hundred low-income families with struggling readers ages 5-8 (grades K-3) will benefit from the Read Well, Think Well Initiative with the funding from the Program.

AARCS “Hospital for Homeless Pets”: WINNER - $8,000

AARCS is a grass-roots animal welfare organization based in Calgary with a dedicated network of hard working staff, volunteers, foster homes, and supporters. Due to hard economic times and veterinary care prices on the rise, AARCS made a move to maintain stability and longevity of programing so it can continue to help rescued animals in dire need of care. Funding from the Program will go towards an on-site veterinary hospital with a surgical suite. By having an on-site veterinary hospital, AARCS can reduce medical costs by 50 per cent, with potential savings of five million dollars over ten years.

Soup Sisters’ “Keep The Soup Flowing”: WINNER - $7,000

Soup Sisters provide meaningful support to victims of domestic abuse and family violence. Each month, with the help of over 150 volunteers, Soup Sisters delivers over 900 servings of fresh, nutritious homemade soup to women’s’ emergency and second-stage shelters throughout Calgary and the surrounding area. With the financial support of the Field Law Community Fund Program, Soup Sisters will benefit upwards of 9,000 women, children and youth in crisis in Calgary and Southern Alberta over a one-year period.

ABOUT FIELD LAW

Field Law is a western and northern regional business law firm listed as one of the largest in Canada, with offices in Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta and Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. The firm is a proud, strong and independent multi-office regional firm with lawyers dedicated to professional excellence, client service and delivering value. More than 120 lawyers and 160 staff work together to provide a wide variety of legal services to businesses and institutions in corporate and commercial matters, litigation and dispute resolution, labour and employment, insurance, energy, intellectual property,  privacy, professional regulatory and medical malpractice issues. Additionally, the firm provides private services to individuals including estate planning services and real estate transactions. 

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Maddie Alvarez
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