The Port Alberni Association for Community Living (PAACL) has won $500 for its window display in Port Alberni’s Uptown.
The Coulson Group of Companies and RBC recently partnered with local non-profits to fill up the windows at the former Zeller’s building on Third Avenue. The colourful displays draw attention to Port Alberni non-profits, but are also meant to brighten up the city’s downtown core.
READ MORE: Coulson Group offers window into Port Alberni non-profits
Port Alberni residents voted on their favourite window displays throughout the month of October, and PAACL was the winner. PAACL is a non-profit society that offers a wide range of services and support for people of all ages with developmental disabilities and their families.
The decorated window featured a wooden replica of the metal sculpture that sits outside of PAACL’s main office on Second Avenue. The artwork was created a few years ago, said PAACL executive director Craig Summers, and is made up of different shapes and colours. The window also featured paint buckets pouring different colours of paint and lights behind a piece of posterboard that showcases the variety of programs that PAACL offers.
“[The display] really represents our philosophy of inclusion and everybody belongs,” said Summers.
Nicole Sendey, director of public relations and communication with the Coulson Group of Companies, said that in-person ballots were the determining factor, as another organization had more online votes. Alberni Community and Women’s Services Society (ACAWS) came in second place, while the Port Alberni branch of the Royal Canadian Legion came in third.
Summers says that the $500 will go towards various programs and services that PAACL provides for its clients.
“We’ll ask [our clients] how they want to spend it,” he said.
Keep an eye on the Windows of Hope on upper Third Avenue, as organizations will soon begin changing up their window displays for a holiday season contest.
elena.rardon@albernivalleynews.com
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