Can-do attitude awarded to Canstruction Cornwall teams

CORNWALL, Ont. – And the winners are…

The inaugural ‘Canstruction’ Cornwall competition at the Benson Centre (April 15-30) raised over 12,000 cans for the Agape Centre.

The food bank-community kitchen hosted the competition’s inaugural awards ceremony at the Best Western Inn on Thursday (May 5) to celebrate the success of the first year, and specifically all the hard work from the teams as well as sponsors, volunteers, and community partners.

All six teams dreamed up a concept, designed it, fundraised to purchase hundreds to thousands of cans, then built the structures in less than 12 hours.

“Can we double it next year?” the chair of the board of directors of the local food bank, Jim Healey, asked the audience.

“Yes we can!” the crowd of 70-plus replied.

The large haul of canned food items is already helping fill the Agape’s shelves, at a time of year when donations are very low.

The cans were brought to the local non-profit on Monday (April 2) and some of the food has already made its way to people’s homes, through the food bank service.

“It’s hard to understand what it really means to be giving away 1,000 cans of food a week,” said Healey. “When people can look at a giant structure built using 1,500 cans, and know that it translates into about a week and a half’s worth of food for the food bank, it helps to paint a clearer picture of just how much food is being given away, and how much need there is right here in our community.”

CogecoTV Cornwall will be airing a segment of the Agape Centre Canstruction Cornwall awards ceremony on Local Matters (Channel 11 and Channel 700 in HD) on Tuesday (May 10). The TV show runs at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.

The winners of the 2016 Agape Centre Canstruction Cornwall design and build competition:

People’s Choice Award: ‘Spiderman’ – Cornwall Rotary Interact Clubs

Structural Ingenuity: ‘Spiderman’ (or most recently called ‘SpiderCAN’) – Cornwall Rotary Interact Clubs

Jurors’ Favorite: Episode VII: The Cans Awaken: The BB-ATE Droid – Professional Engineers Ontario, Upper Canada Chapter

Best Use of Labels: Episode VII: The Cans Awaken: The BB-ATE Droid – Professional Engineers Ontario, Upper Canada Chapter

Best Meal: A Local Pint – BEERgon Canstruction Team – Bourgon Construction

Kids’ Favorite: ‘KIN der garden’ – Kinsmen Club of Cornwall

Community Innovation: ‘Seaway Bridge’ – WSP/Architecture 49

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