Corporate Volunteer Award of Excellence 2007 Recipients
SMALL BUSINESS CATEGORY
Full of Beans (Irricana)
Full of Beans is a successful coffee shop, laundromat, and fitness centre in Irricana, Alberta. Since the business started, Full of Beans has contributed significantly to the quality of life in Irricana through community involvement, participation and volunteering. Full of Beans has been involved in the local Terry Fox Run, the Irricana Winter Festival and the Food Bank Drive, just to name a few. I addition, Full of Beans hosts a number of public events and provides reduced-rate tutoring for students, many of whom are from rural areas where such opportunities may not be available.
Milano for Men (Red Deer)
Milano for Men has been active in the Red Deer community for years. The business has contributed financial support to a number of organizations ranging from those working on disease research to the support of Olympic athletes. Time and expertise has been shared with high school students, Junior Achievement and Kids Cancer Camps to name a few. The business also donates goods and materials to high school graduates who may not otherwise have the means to purchase a suit for graduation. This spirit of commitment and volunteerism is exhibited by all of the staff at Milano for Men and has been a great benefit for the entire community.
MEDIUM BUSINESS CATEGORY
JKR Excavating (Okotoks)
Since the company began in Okotoks in 1998, JKR Excavating has been a great contributor to the Town of Black Diamond. The volunteer efforts of JKR Excavating have touched the lives of all of the citizens of Black Diamond. The safety of the children was a top priority at the time and funds that JKR Excavating donated to the building of a skateboard park that took children off the dangerous and busy highway that runs through the town. Children were also in mind in the donations and volunteer time that they contributed to the annual bike rally that provides safe helmets for children. JKR Excavating also donated trucks, equipment and labour to assist the community during the floods of 2005. It is a truly generous act of community spirit for a company to put aside profit in order to help during a time of crisis.
Tim Horton's (St. Albert)
Tim Horton's, St. Albert run by the Jenkins family, contributes every year to the many programs that are organized by the larger company, such as the Tim Horton's Children Foundation and Tim Horton's Camp Day among others. Where this Tim Horton's truly excels is in the volunteer and charitable work that supports many other nonprofit and volunteer organizations in the St. Albert community. This includes the Northern Alberta Children's Festival, the St. Albert Public Library, various St. Albert hockey, soccer and ringette teams, and many more. In fact, the Jenkins family and their Tim Horton's franchises have assisted an impressive 59 organizations.
LARGE BUSINESS CATEGORY
ATCO Group
ATCO is a name that is known across Alberta for its Gas, Electric and Power offices and activities. For those in the nonprofit and voluntary sector in Alberta, ATCO is also known for the yearly Community Symposium that they organize and host. These Community Symposia are a unique opportunity for staff and volunteers in the nonprofit and voluntary sector to attend valuable training sessions on a variety of key topics such as volunteer management, marketing, succession planning and strategic planning. These symposia are organized by ATCO staff, such as Wilf Golbeck, whose energy, passion and commitment has helped make these events a success. ATCO also involves their own staff in presenting sessions and they are able to attract other presenters from respected businesses. The whole symposium package is offered to nonprofit and volunteer organizations at a nominal cost in rural areas where training opportunities are often more difficult to find.
Intuit Canada (Edmonton)
Support for the nomination of Intuit Canada, an industry leader in the development of e-finance solutions, included impressive numbers of how the company has donated funds to many worthy causes, and how they have offered their facilities, products and services to assist nonprofit and voluntary sector organizations in Alberta. Perhaps the most significant part of Intuit's nomination for this award is that their employees donate thousands of hours each year to help Edmonton's Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity and the Stollery Children's Hospital, to only name a few. This volunteer time is valuable not only for the actual work that is performed, but also because one of Intuit's most enduring Operating Values includes a continuous commitment to the communities their employees live in and the areas in which they do business.
