Friday, June 20th Celebration – Come and see us!

Annapolis Valley, NS – The Kings Community Action Group on Gambling (KCAGoG) will host A Celebration of Our Work on Friday, June 20. Starting at 2 pm at Just Us Roastery in Grand Pre, KCAGoG will also hold their annual general meeting following the celebration.

“Gambling harms impact the entire community – about $4 million in gambling revenue leaves Kings County every year, reducing potential spending by customers of local businesses,” says Bruce Dienes, Chair, KCAGoG. “The lack of transparency, effective regulation, and adequate education needs to be addressed. This goes beyond those who are individually harmed by unsafe gambling products. Family members, friends, colleagues, workplaces and the larger community are both directly and indirectly impacted.”

Working towards a vision of “healthy communities free of gambling harm”, KCAGoG has worked over the past three years to:
· Reduce gambling harm in Kings County
· Increase awareness of the impact of gambling harm in Kings County
· Support local businesses and organizations to decrease their reliance on gambling revenues
· Envision a future without a dependence on gambling revenues

KCAGoG was recently awarded $40,000 from Gambling Awareness Nova Scotia to work with local communities to understand and reduce gambling harm. They recently completed a partnership with Acadia Entrepreneurship Centre to work with small business to find supportive ways to reduce dependence on gambling revenue while remaining profitable. Partnerships with the Canadian Mental Health Association, Annapolis Valley Health and Community Health Boards have supported Gambling Dialogue sessions in local communities.

“Our communities are suffering the consequences of gambling-related harms,” says Tricia Cochrane, Vice President of Continuing Care and Community Health, Annapolis Valley Health. “We have a lot of work to do to reduce the impact and partnerships like KCAGoG are key to address gambling harms and improve the health of our community.”As part of their commitment to creating healthier communities, AVH has released a position statement on Gambling and Healthy Communities

Dienes says that KCAGoG wants to promote an awareness of the community impacts of gambling harm and support our county and its towns to work towards safer gambling practices. “The commitment of so many partners and the interest we’ve already had to date is a great sign that we can make a difference.”

Members of the public and media are welcome to attend Friday’s event. Refreshments will be provided.

For more information please contact:
Bruce Dienes

www.kcagog.ca