Molson in the Community

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Originally uploaded by ferg.devins

March 28th 2009 at 830pm the world wiill engage in Earth Hour. At Molson we are proud to be actively engaged in raising awareness for our employees at all of our locations across the country and reaching out to the family, friends, neighbours, customers, beer drinkers and all Canadians to take action on March 28th.

Last year we had all of our operations take action to reduce energy, which actually resulted in some learning that helped us to change some of our practices to improve energy efficiencies. A simple action like turning off non essential lighting resulted in some powerful examples of how we can make a difference in energy conservation.

Molson salutes the folks at World Wildlife Fund for their continued efforts with Earth Hour and encourage our employees, customers, consumers, families, friends and neigbhours to rise up and get involved in this tremendous initiative on March 28th around the globe.

More to come…Cheers…@MolsonFerg

Cities in Canada already engaged include Toronto, Montreal, Halifax, Vancouver and Edmonton.

Calgary Team at the Inter-Faith Food Bank

On Friday, January 23rd twenty members of the Calgary sales and market development teams donated their time to sort food at the Calgary Inter-Faith Food Bank. In 3 hours, the team helped sort over 17,000 pounds of food and put together food hampers – quite an accomplishment! Area Vice President Rick Tousaw also presented a cheque to the Food Bank from Molson for $5,000.

L to R: Rick Tousaw, Area Vice President, Molson; James McAra, CEO Calgary Inter-Faith Food Bank

It was a very moving experience for many on the team to see the magnitude of the operation and to hear that in December of 2008, 26% more people came to the Food Bank than the same period the previous year.  We at Molson are proud to play our part 365 days a year in helping to give back to our communities.

A guest post from Molson employee Derek McConnell, National Imports Demand Planner.  Thanks for your story Derek!  Cheers, Tonia

Derek volunteering at the 2008 toy room

As part of the inaugural year of our Molson Volunteer Program (MVP), I went to work for the day at the Peel Children’s Aid Holiday Wishes Toy Room.  The purpose of the Holiday Wishes program is to give a joyous holiday experience to Peel area children who, due to financial and other hardships, might otherwise go without.  The children and family are provided with gifts, clothing and access to food for the holiday season.  I found the experience of that first day so rewarding that I began going back after work in the evenings and used some vacation days as well.  2008 was my third year and I was able to spend a number of full days there.  I’m already planning to save a week’s vacation for next season.

Beginning in 2009 I have been invited join the Children’s Aid advisory committee where we will meet throughout the year to discuss ways to improve their operation, where I’m sure my Supply Chain expertise will be very beneficial.  The folks at the CAS love to introduce me around as Derek from Molson and tell the story of how I came to join them – through Molson.  Having been raised by a single mother working two unskilled jobs, I can very much empathize having a holiday experience severely limited by the family’s current means.  There is a great personal connection in putting together the packages for little Sally or Ahmed knowing how thrilled they will be when they open their gifts and find their wish fulfilled.  You get so into it that there’s almost a Schlinder’s list type vibe as you know with a little more work you can serve “just one more child”!

MVP volunteers at the 2008 toy drive

How can your help?  Get involved, donate or volunteer.

Donations from individuals and corporations are received from general donations like the toy drive we have at Molson each year but you may not know that there is also a sponsorship program for the families most in need. The Angel Tree program allows individuals to choose a child’s name and meet one specific gift wish for that child while the Family sponsorship program has individuals or groups donating a larger package of gifts and clothing for all of the kids in one family.

In these times of economic uncertainty demand is ever greater as more children are in need (a 15% increase in dependent children in 2008) while at the same time individuals and corporations are finding it more difficult to give.

2008 Facts

Number of children served                                1744

Number of families served                                577

Number of corporate volunteers                      117

Number of volunteer hours                               1722

The JDC West competition was held over the weekend here in Edmonton and was a smashing success! JDC West  brought over 600 delegates, from 14 Business schools across Western Canada and Ontario to the University of Alberta where they competed in 10 academic case studies, a parliamentary style debate, a sports tournament, and a social competition. Molson was a proud sponsor of this year’s competition.

On Saturday, we sponsored the social held at the Mayfield Trade and Convention Centre. The theme of the social was the 1990’s and the competition consisted of each school having to create a choreographed routine to go along with the music from a 90’s song.  Molson’s own Kerri Lockwood and Trevor Derksen were two of the judges of the competition. Congrats to the University of Regina and University of Saskatchewan for sharing first prize.

Molson also sponsored the Marketing case study, which was held on Sunday. Participants were given the case first thing in the morning and had 3 hours to prepare a 20 minute pitch to make to the three judge panel. Trevor Derksen, Director of Planning and Customer Marketing in Western Canada was one of the three judges. Trevor also had the honour of presenting the first, second and third prizes at the Gala dinner held at the Shaw Conference Centre last night. Congratulations to the University of Alberta for taking 1st place in the Marketing competition.

Watch Trevor present to the winners.

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I must say that the spirit, energy and dedication of the students over the weekend was amazing. Molson salutes all of the delegates and organizers for putting on a fantastic event!

Nicole Halasz (left), Project Manager, Atikokan Recreation Project and Val Glymitas, Molson

I was sent some info today from a Molson sales rep in Thunder Bay, Val Glymitsas, describing how some funding from Molson will go to help a small town up North called Atikokan.  My first thought was – cool, love hearing about community initiatives across Ontario.  My second thought – I have no idea where Atikokan is….

Some research results: The city of Atikokan, Ontario, also known as the canoeing capital of Canada, is home to approximately 3,400 people and is located in the southeast region of Sunset country (about 200 km from Thunder Bay).  Atikokan is well known for its annual Bass Classic which Molson is a proud sponsor of.  This year will be the 27th year of the tournament which has been coined as the ‘Funnest Tournament in the Great Northwest’ – not sure why, but ready to hear some testimonials!

Molson has donated $5,000 to the city, partnering with a community initiative that will support recreational activities such as the Bass Classic.  The volunteer committee will now be able to expand and improve amenities at the recreation centre — new docks, new visitors sites, enhanced seating area, etc.

After a little more searching online, I found the Bass Classic site for anyone interested in participating. Go fish…..cheers.