Outdoor games at Essex District High School will soon be a lot more comfortable for fans.
Up to now there were no bleachers at the main field and the school has been fundraising to build them.
On Tuesday, the school learned it was one of three national winners of $100,000 from the AVIVA Community Fund.
Student success teacher Lindsay Drozdz says they knew they had done well because they had tracked voting, but this blew them away.
She says one group of students played a big part in the win.
"The Grade 12 leadership class actually took this project on and they were going out to community events such as Essex 73's games and our BIA Street Party and interacting with community members and eliciting support."
Drozdz says the response was overwhelming for the students.
"It was awesome. The school was really, really excited, $100,000, it's a really big deal and we've been raising money for these bleachers for the last couple of years and it's a really slow process. They're very expensive and each fundraiser makes a couple of thousand here and there."
She says this project will make a real difference in the community.
"You don't really think about it, it's just bleachers right? But it does have a huge impact on spirit. People are sitting up there together. It doesn't just affect the athletes that are playing, but it affects the students that are there as well and the community members, everybody's up there cheering."
Drozdz says the goal is to start construction on the new bleachers in the spring.
AVIVA Canada was represented at the presentation by the Ives Insurance Group.