One young man has taken it upon himself to help Spencerville win the This Place Matters contest.
Ahead of today’s noon fundraising deadline 14-year-old Max LaSalle set up a table outside The Village Pantry in Spencerville and started raising funds. Max is trying to give Spencerville a boost that will spring them back in to first place and has raised over $650. According to representatives from Spencerville’s This Place Matter’s team they had been leading for weeks but recently an initiative out of Guelph has passed them.
The competition has two parts, votes and donations. The community project that receives the most votes online will get $30,000 dollars, while the group that raises the most money are going to receive $15,000. Money for the competition is coming from the National Trust for Canada This Place Matters crowdfunding platform that is dedicated to helping Canadians save places that are important to them.
If the Spencerville team wins they plan to change the green space next to South Nation River into a new park for locals. Plans for the Spencerville Riverside Park include adding gardens, benches, picnic tables, wheelchair ramps, bike racks, recycling bins, a pergola, historical panels, an information kiosk and maps that point to local businesses or interesting locations.
The Spencerville’s team goal is to raise $17,000 and, at last check, their total was just over $8,700. Spencerville’s This Place Matter’s team are encouraging people to vote for their project because they are currently in second place. The deadline to vote or donate is noon today and votes can be cast at https://thisplacematters.ca/.