Patrick4Life finalist for Great Grants Awards

File photo of Patrick4Life founders the Fortin Family.

Ontario Trillium Foundation
News Release

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The Ontario Trillium Foundation today announced that Patrick 4 Life is one of 19 finalists for its prestigious 2009 Great Grants Awards. The awards recognize Ontario organizations that have demonstrated exceptional results, innovation and a lasting impact on the communities they serve.

Patrick 4 Life has been selected as a finalist in the human and social services category. The 2009 Great Grants Awards recipients will be recognized by Ontario Culture Minister Aileen Carroll at a ceremony in Toronto November 5th.

FINALIST PROFILE

Patrick 4 Life

Partici-Patrick gets elementary students to take on physical activities equating to a full 42.2 kilometre marathon over 10 weeks. Along the way, the youths learn age-appropriate information about HIV/AIDS and build a sense of personal responsibility for their choices and a respect for individual differences. Some 2,000 grade 4-8 students from all four Nippissing District school boards participated in the program's first year. Partici-Patrick is named in honour of Patrick Fortin, who, at age 7, contracted HIV through a blood transfusion. He died in 2001. Patrick4Life http://www.patrick4life.org/aboutpatrick4life.html is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to educating youth about the prevention of HIV/AIDS. ($62,600 awarded October 2007)

QUOTES

"Great Grants Award finalists have been selected for the outstanding and long term impact their projects are having on the people and communities they serve," said Ontario Trillium Foundation Chair Helen Burstyn.

"We are very proud of Patrick 4 Life, and are excited that, with this nomination, its work in the community will now be acknowledged across Ontario. Its efforts go to the heart of the Foundation's own work: to support good ideas and help foster community connections that improve people's quality of life," said local Grant Review Team Chair Lois Cookman.

QUICK FACTS

* Ontario Trillium Foundation Great Grants Award finalists were selected from among some 4,500 groups that received OTF support between April 2005 and December 2008

· Seven Great Grants will be awarded November 5th in Toronto:

§ One for each of OTF's four funded sectors: Arts and culture, sports and recreation, environment, and human and social services

§ The Minister's Award - For the province-wide program grant that demonstrates a significant impact across the province

§ The Chair's Award - Chosen from among all the Great Grants nominees

§ The CEO's Award - Chosen from among all the Great Grants nominees

* The OTF grants funding to approximately 1,500 organizations each year.

MORE

View all Great Grant Award finalists http://www.trilliumfoundation.org/User/Docs/PDFs/gg/GG_Bkgrder_2009.pdf

Learn more about the Ontario Trillium Foundation http://www.trilliumfoundation.org/cms/en/index.aspx

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