Molson in the Community

On Wednesday Molson Canadian launched it’s True Fan Campaign which rallies hockey fans to show their support for their favourite post-season hockey team by growing playoff beards!  Pretty fun, right?  Well, here’s the best part:

In exchange for growing their beards, participants are being encouraged to gather pledges from friends, family, colleagues, etc. which will be donated to the Canadian Hockey Foundation.  The funds raised will support the future development and delivery of Hockey Canada programs and activities such as supporting women’s hockey, improving coaching resources and prepping players for international competitions.

What a great way to support your favourite team and the future of hockey in Canada!  Good luck to everyone….can’t wait to see some beards around the office here in Toronto.  By the way…ladies, you can participate by growing a virtual beard at www.molsoncanadian.com

What team are you supporting and how much can your hair raise? Download your playoff beard pledge form

Molson….proud to play our part.

A story emerged on CBC radio in Edmonton and in the Edmonton Journal this week referring to the future plans for Molson House in Edmonton on the site of the Molson Brewery. Molson Brewery in Edmonton closed in the summer of 2007 and the site sale is nearing completion with an interested purchaser. Molson House, located on the Brewery site in Edmonton has long been associated with various community festivals, events and special occasions. In fact it was at Molson House where the famous Wayne Gretzy trade to the Los Angelas Kings took place. in recent years there was a significant decline in the use of Molson House as more of our licensed establishment customers offered their failities for these hospitality events. If a community orgnization is interested in acquiring Molson House, Molson would be willing to donate the facility to the community group and the cost of moving would be the responsbility of the interested party. inquiries should be directed to  bryan.cox@molson.com.

Molson sponsors Mary Knowles Community Award, from left to right Carole Berry, Molson, Lynda Hillman-Rapley, recipient, Knowles children Ben and Emily.

I had the opportunity to represent Molson at the Ontario Community Newspaper Association’s Spring Convention held at the Delta Chelsea Hotel on April 5th, 2008.  I presented the Mary Knowles’ Community Award, this is Molson’s 2nd year, to Lynda Hillman-Rapley, Editor of the Grand Bend Lakeshore Advance  this years recipient of the prestigious award.  I have to admit, I was humbled at the list of charities Lynda has helped throughout the years in her community, Grand Bend Ontario.   Lynda has saved a school and raised money for a library and gym for another school, I was blown away.  Lynda’s favourite charity is the Grand Bend Baseball Project.

Molson employees volunteering time at the Framework Foundation’s Toronto Timeraiser on Saturday, April 5, 2008.  From left: Peter Bombaci, Fiona Cunningham, Tonia Hammer, Sebastien Gagner, Kathleen Krisciunas.

‘Wow’ is the only way I can describe how amazing Saturday night at the 5th annual Timeraiser was.  Held at the beautiful Fermenting Cellar in the Distillery District, this year’s Toronto event was sold out days before the event date.

What is a Timeraiser you ask? 

A Timeraiser is a charity art auction where rather than bidding money, you bid the number of hours that you are willing to volunteer for an organization of your choice — An AMAZING way to help young Canadians who want to volunteer, connect with different organizations.

This year’s Toronto event was a great success, raising over 11,000 hours – way above the original goal of 7,500.  Everyone was bidding like crazy!  The bid maximum was 150 hours per piece of artwork, and at least 90% of the art pieces reached the maximum amount.

Molson has been a proud sponsor of Timeraiser since its conception 5 years ago.  Some of Molson’s community partners were part of the event too, including The United Way and Meal Exchange.  I decided to bid hours for Meal Exchange, and I can’t wait to start working with such a great organization.

Interview with Molson employee and Timeraiser volunteer, Peter Bombaci

Watch for upcoming Timeraisers in Calgary, Ottawa and Vancouver - www.timeraiser.com for more information.

Proud to play our part…..cheers!