Welcome to The Good Samaritans Contest 2010

"And those who give what they give with apprehensive hearts, because they will return to their Lord, are the ones who hasten to good things; and they take the lead in them." (The Qur’an, The Believers, 61)

How the Contest Works:

1. Form a team consisting of 3-10 individuals
2. Come up with a few ideas on how you and your team can make a positive difference in the Greater Toronto Area (see acceptable charitable activities section below for details)
3. Choose an idea and create a plan of action to carry it out
4. Tell us about your plan by submitting an online contest application (we will either approve your plan or help you to revise it in order for it to receive approval if necessary)
5. Once approved, execute your plan
6. Win a prize anywhere between a free meal and $1000 (see prizes section below for details)
7. Turn two more ideas into action and triple your team’s chances of winning the grand prize!

 

Contest Rules:

• Individuals must be between 12 and 25 years of age in order to participate (individuals under 16 years of age will be required to submit a signed parental consent form)
• Individuals must register as part of a group or team in order to participate
• Each team must have a minimum of 3 members, and a maximum of 10 members
• Each team must have at least 2 members who are 16 years of age or older
• Each team must designate a leader (i.e. someone who will supervise, manage, and take responsibility for their team’s activities as well as represent their team in any correspondence with Awliya Community Services representatives as needed) who is at least 16 years of age or older
• Each team must engage in an activity that results in a positive impact for a segment of the community (i.e. seniors, orphans, people living in poverty, people with disabilities, youth at risk, etc.) (see acceptable charitable activities section below for details)
• Each activity must take place on the date and time specified in the contest application and must not exceed 12 hours total in duration; the only exception to this rule will be made for teams engaging in a fund raising activity in which money raised during an event on a specified date is given to a local charitable cause of the team’s choice at a later date
• All team members must attend and play a role in the charitable activity of their respective team
• All participants must wear the shirt provided to them by Awliya Community Services representatives as the charitable activity takes place
• All participants must agree to having their pictures taken as the charitable activity takes place for the purposes of posting on this website
• Charitable activities must occur within the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) (GTA includes Hamilton-Wentworth region)
• All teams must adhere to the contest deadlines (see contest deadlines section below for details)

Terms and Conditions:

• Each team may carry out up to three (3) different charitable activities per year for the purposes of the contest; teams interested in carrying out more than one activity must submit a separate online application for each activity they wish to carry out
• A minimum of ten (10) charitable activities per year must take place for the contest to proceed (any given team’s greatest odds of winning the grand prize are 3 in 10)
• A maximum of twenty (20) charitable activities per year will be considered for the contest; applications will not be accepted after the maximum amount of activities have been evaluated, but may be considered for the following year (any given team’s least odds of winning the grand prize are 3 in 20)
• Registration in the contest occurs on a first come first serve basis; Awliya Community Services reserves the right to reject contest applications or request modifications to them as necessary
• Awliya Community Services reserves the rights to only correspond with team leaders regarding any updates, questions, or concerns relating to the contest
• Awliya Community Services will not assume any liability or accept any responsibility for any problems in whole or in part caused by the actions of any individual or team participating in the contest
• Awliya Community Services reserves the right to amend or terminate the contest for any reason in whole or in part at any time without prior notice
• Teams that fail to comply with the contest rules may not be considered eligible to win a cash prize, but may be considered for any lesser prizes upon completion of their charitable activity depending on the specific nature of the rule violation in question
• By submitting a contest application, participants are agreeing to or accepting all of the rules, and terms and conditions in addition to what follows below pertaining to contest deadlines, prizes, awarding criteria, frequently asked questions and any related disclaimers

Contest Deadlines:

• Teams may participate in the contest on an annual basis and all year round
• The contest begins on January 1st and ends December 31st of the same year
• Contest applications must be submitted online at least 21 days/three (3) weeks prior to the date that the proposed activity is scheduled to take place (e.g. if an activity is scheduled to take place on July 30th, 2010, the application should have been submitted no later than July 9th, 2010)
• In order to be considered for the current year’s contest, charitable activities must take place before December 31st of the current year

 

Prizes:

• Cash prizes will be awarded to the top three winning teams as follows: $1000 for 1st place team; $500 for 2nd place team; $300 for 3rd place team (2010 3rd place prize sponsored by iFreedom Plus MasterCard®)
• For 2010: Complimentary meals from Kara Mia (Mississauga location), worth between $10 and $15 each, will be awarded to the 4th place team (i.e. one complimentary meal per team member)
• For 2010: One (1) complimentary meal from a local participating restaurant will be awarded to all non-winning participants. Click here for a list of sponsors/participating restaurants
• Prizes will be given out at an awards ceremony (date and location will be announced closer to the completion of the contest)
• Winning teams will be posted on this website
• Prizes may be added and/or increased with contributions from additional individual or business sponsors

Awarding Criteria:

Awliya Community Services' representatives will be present during the activity for the purposes of evaluation.  Prizes will be awarded based on an evaluation, where applicable, of the following criteria:

1. Level of client satisfaction
2. Level of professionalism
3. Level of creativity
4. Level of impact
5. Level of group effort

Evaluations of each criteria will be made in a systematic manner, and decisions will be final.  There will be no appeal process for any individuals or teams disagreeing with the outcomes decided by the evaluators.

 

Acceptable Charitable Activities:

Examples of different types of charitable activities that may be considered acceptable for the purposes of this contest include, but are not limited to, the following:

 
• Fund raising activities for a local charitable cause
• Stage plays whose themes address a particular problem or issue
• Sports tournaments with educational components addressing a particular problem or issue in relation to youth at risk
• Activities to assist seniors or individuals with disabilities to live independently (e.g. laundry, housekeeping)
• Activities to improve the appearance/cleanliness of the environment
• Activities to assist the poor (e.g. food/clothing distribution)

A charitable act can be removing something harmful from the road, guiding a blind person, feeding the hungry, listening to someone in need, having a cheerful face, or virtually any other good deed. Charitable activities serve to alleviate or remove an individual’s or group of individuals' burdens, and uplift the human spirit. Contest participants are therefore encouraged to exercise creativity in attempting to make a positive difference in their communities.

Frequently Asked Questions

To become a sponsor, or for any inquiries regarding the Good Samaritans Contest including questions on how to get started, please click here to contact us.

Good Samaritans Contest 2010 Application

Disclaimer: The Good Samaritans Contest offers material rewards for charitable work. While we believe that doing good is its own reward, we also believe that individuals who do good deserve to be rewarded, regardless of their own expectations. We encourage anyone interested in participating in this contest to examine and clarify their intentions for themselves.