The last month of 2024 has arrived! 🎉
As we close out another year, it’s the perfect time to pause, reflect and celebrate all we have accomplished together. From milestones reached to challenges overcome, this year has been a testament to the hard work, resilience and collaboration of our incredible team.
Thank you for being an integral part of our journey. Here’s to even greater success in the year to come!
Village moves 🌟
In December, we welcomed the following people to our Village team:
TorontoToday deputy editor Cherise Seucharan
TorontoToday reporter Gabe Oatley
SPACES.ca content coordinator Andrew Stuetz
Welcome all!
Village journalists nominated for 10 Canadian Online Publishing Awards 🌟
Our talented team of journalists had their incredible work from the past year acknowledged when this year’s Canadian Online Publishing Awards finalists were announced.
Village Media has 10 nominations in a variety of categories - even going head-to-head with sister-sites in a number of the categories.
Here is the full list (with links to the nominated stories):
- Best Feel Good Story: GuelphToday, Richard Vivian
- Best Multicultural Story: OrilliaMatters, Tyler Evans
- Best Daily News/Sports Coverage: BarrieToday, Kevin Lamb; BradfordToday, Michael Owen; SooToday, Alex Flood
- Best Continuing Coverage: Sudbury.com, Jenny Lamothe
- Best Photojournalism: BarrieToday, Kevin Lamb; BurlingtonToday, Julie Slack
- Best Local Community News/Sports: CollingwoodToday, Erika Engel; Sudbury.com, Tyler Clarke
Congratulations to all of the finalists! The winners will be announced at a live event in February. Good luck 👏
12 years of 12 Days of Christmas 🎅
SooToday is celebrating 12 years of delivering our 12 Days of Christmas Random Acts of Kindness program to our HQ hometown of Sault Ste. Marie.
Each year, the program grows with the help of generous local businesses who partner with our Random Acts of Kindness team to create unforgettable holiday memories for extraordinary community members.
If you’re looking for some heartwarming holiday content, you can watch all of this year’s 12 Days of Christmas videos (so far) by visiting here.
Village sites raise over $52,000 for local food banks ❤️
Our annual Christmas Food Drive Matches make a big difference in the communities we serve, helping to stock the shelves at local food banks during their most in-demand season.
2024 marked a record year for the matches! We had 12 of our markets participate, with our sales teams connecting with local grocery stores for food package and gift card donations, as well as local businesses who pledged to match reader donations.
The total raised was $52,551 for food banks in our communities!
A special shout-out to Sudbury.com, whose auction raised over $15,000 for the Sudbury Food Bank 🎊
Teddy Bear Caper delivered cuddles and cash to local hospitals 🧸
Our annual Teddy Bear Caper was a heartwarming success, securing 158 teddy bears for children in local hospitals over the holidays and raising $17,500 for hospitals in Cambridge, Halton Hills, Elora & Fergus and Guelph.
The smiles say it all!
Inside the Village Celebrates 100 episodes! 🎉
Inside the Village debuted across our network of sites on April 20, 2022. The episode, entitled ‘The Search for Katrina’, focused on the disappearance of a former Canadian soldier, Katrina Blagdon, who suddenly vanished in St. Catharines on New Year's Eve.
Hosts Scott Sexsmith and Michael Friscolanti spoke with Katrina’s mother and sister four months into the search. Just three weeks after the episode aired, Katrina's body was found in the water in the St. Catharines area.
Now wrapping up its third season, ITV recently marked its 100 episode milestone and in that time they have covered a lot of ground. From the Greenbelt scandal to sex workers rights, long-term care issues to an Ontario mayor who takes pride in dropping f-bombs, to inflation, shrinkflation, Stanley Cup champs and an exclusive sit down with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Here's to 100 more!
✨ Spotlight on sponsorships ✨
Our holiday sponsorships spanned 10 different communities, including:
BayToday
NBRHC Foundation, Benefit Show Dreamer
CambridgeToday
Arcady Ensemble
EloraFergusToday
Elora Chamber Singers
HaltonHillsToday
VR Pro Santa Races
FlamboroughToday
VR Pro Santa Races
GuelphToday
Michael House, Chamber Singers
MiltonToday
Lunchbox Cafe
SooToday
ARCH Illuminate the Season, Sault College Cougars Hockey Team
Sudbury.com
Benefit Show Dreamer
TorontoToday
Yorkville Holiday Market Pop Up
Spotted around the Village 🌎
Seven jobs open on the Village job board: 👀
Pawesome Villager of the month 🐾
Cloey, who just turned five, was adopted in Thunder Bay from Paws for Love.
According to a doggie DNA test, she is a Malamute, German Shepherd, Husky and Irish Setter mix. She is known for barking at passersby out the front window of her new home and howling at the Village Media office to get her dad's attention.
Proud pet parent: Brandon Walker
See you in the new year!
