Sponsor spotlight: Cohen Highley Law Firm

Canstruction Waterloo Region returns to Conestoga Mall during March Break, March 14 to 22. The week-long event—hosted by The Food Bank of Waterloo Region—increases awareness about food insecurity in our community, raises food and funds in support of The Food Bank, and brings local businesses and community groups together to use their creativity to help build a future without hunger.

Once again, this year’s event is presented by Cohen Highley Law Firm, a multidisciplinary law firm that provides exceptional legal services to individuals and organizations throughout Ontario. Their dedication to success not only spans 50 years but also extends beyond the court/board room and into the community. As the presenting sponsor for Canstruction, Cohen Highley is helping to ensure that no one in Waterloo region goes hungry.

“We have a position of privilege in the communities where we practice,” explains Stephanie Sutherland, a lawyer at Cohen Highley. “It’s important to us to give back, and addressing food insecurity is a big priority so it’s nice to be able to contribute in this way.”

To help fight hunger in our community, 13 teams are participating in Canstruction, putting their talent and skills to the test to build awe-inspiring structures using more than 26,000 unopened cans of food! All the food used in the structures is donated to The Food Bank and then distributed to the 61 organizations in the Community Food Assistance Network that provide direct food support to the nearly 73,000 people in Waterloo region accessing food assistance.

Stephanie and Kevin Lundy, another lawyer at Cohen Highley, joined our panel of judges to help hand out awards for Best Original Design, Structural Ingenuity, Best Use of Labels, Most Cans, Best Meal, and Judges’ Favourite.

Stephanie and Kevin are pictured with Stubbe’s Precast’s structure, Turning Hunger Around.

“Just like last year, I was incredibly impressed with the creativity and the amount of work that goes into the structures,” Stephanie says.

“The thought they put into it in terms of engineering the design,” Kevin adds. “That must have been a lot of work to get it exactly right. The planning ahead is impressive.”

When asked what their favourite structures were, they couldn’t name just one.

“I’m torn between two,” Stephanie says. “I really liked [City of Kitchener’s Building Division’s structure, Rolls that Matter]. I thought that was really, really creative. But [Stubbe’s Precast’s structure, Turning Hunger Around] is also pretty amazing. The way that they folded up the tea bags to create the tulips is ingenious.”

City of Kitchener’s Building Division’s structure, Rolls that Matter.

“That was above and beyond,” Kevin agrees. “That many tea bags… the labour it would take to do that. But I also think the labels on [Teledyne FLIR’s structure, The Great Canadian Maple] were really impressive as well.”

Teledyne FLIR’s structure, The Great Canadian Maple.

But they’re not the only ones who get to judge the structures. The public will also determine an award winner. Between March 14 and 22, community members can visit the mall, view the structures, and donate to The Food Bank to vote for their favourite build. The structure with the most votes wins the People’s Choice Award. Every dollar donated helps provide two meals for someone facing hunger.

To see all the structures, be sure to drop by Conestoga Mall and donate to The Food Bank to vote for your favourite build to help decide the People’s Choice Award. You can also donate to vote online. The winner will be announced March 23.