Vernon non-profit up for $100K prize with latest COVID-19 vaccine campaign

A video campaign in Vernon has one non-profit up for a $100,000 prize that would be reinvested in local programming promoting public health in the community.

The Vernon and District Immigrant and Community Services Society (VDICSS) launched five videos earlier this month asking local immigrants “Who do you miss?” in a campaign aimed at boosting COVID-19 vaccine confidence in Canada’s newcomers.

VDICSS said the videos have been well received, collecting more than 12,000 Facebook views.

“We have received some great anecdotal stories from clients and their families and friends who have gone out and received their first and second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine,” said CEO Philipp Gruner.

“Our goal with this campaign remains to inform and help answer any questions newcomers to Canada may have regarding the vaccine and COVID-19 in general,” he said. “We’re very appreciative of the support Interior Health has provided.”

Now, VDICSS was selected as a finalist to receive funding by the Public Health Agency of Canada for the Vaccine Community Innovation Challenge. A panel will assess the finalists’ campaigns and determine a winner.

The society’s programming coordinator said it would be an honour to win the $100,000 grand prize.

“Our campaign speaks from the heart and I believe we have a great shot at winning,” Amelia Sirianni said. “We are asking locals to help spread the message by sharing the videos and talking with friends and family about getting the vaccine.”

Another short compilation video from six local immigrants sharing who they miss most in Punjabi, Arabic, Spanish and Albanian has recently been launched on YouTube.

Visit Facebook.com/VernonISS to watch and share the videos as they’re released over the coming weeks or view them on YouTube:

Arabic: https://youtu.be/g-MVS7B_3u0

English: https://youtu.be/mWFz6KOXGWc

Mandarin: https://youtu.be/6cShoRjHyQI

Punjabi: https://youtu.be/LSNcxACizBc

Spanish: https://youtu.be/XGM9b_BbqMs