Molson in the Community

Chez Molson Coors: SEPTEMBRE – Mois de gestion responsable de l’eau!

À Montréal, plus d’une centaine d’employés-es se sont rassemblés pour procéder au nettoyage des rives de Verdun dans le cadre d’une opération nationale “Grand nettoyage des rivages canadiens” mise sur pied par WWF (World Wildlife Foundation – Fonds mondial pour la nature). Au cours du mois de septembre, Molson Coors aura mis sur pied une douzaine de ces rassemblements à l’échelle du Canada, dans le but d’engager le plus grand nombre d’employés-es possible.

Nos bénévoles ont été plus que généreux et courageux … la pluie n’a jamais cessé. Si le soleil ne s’est pas montré le bout du nez, je peux vous assurer que le soleil était partout dans nos coeurs, et que l’absence de Galarneau ne nous aura pas retiré notre bonne humeur, et notre passion de préserver l’eau!

Connaissez-vous notre “équipe de la relève”? celle-ci est composée d’une quinzaine d’employés-es Molson Coors qui doivent relever plusieurs défis les sortant de leur zone de confort, et ce, tout au cours de leur année de formation. Cette fois, leur défi était de réaliser cette activité dans tous ses détails (planification, partage des tâches et responsabilités, influence auprès de partenaires, influence auprès de tous nos employés-es à participer, communication interne et externe, organisation d’un BBQ accompagné de nos excellents produits! et j’en passe!) – BRAVO, MISSION ACCOMPLIE avec le plus grand des succès. Vous avez toutes les raisons d’être fiers de votre réalisation, un objectif que vous avez largement dépassé … ci-dessous une photo de toute l’équipe!

Sur cette dernière photo apparaissent (de G à D), Normand Houle de l’arrondissement de Verdun, Pierre Laflamme, membre de l’équipe de la relève et responsable des communications, notre fameux Panda (Sylvie Levasseur), Marie-Claude Lemieux de WWF (Fonds mondial pour la nature) ainsi que Raymond Carrier de l’opération net de la Ville de Montréal – un homme extraordinaire, toujours présent!

Merci à toute l’équipe et, surtout, n’oubliez pas ceci:

“Nous avons besoin d’une bonne eau pour brasser d’excellentes bières” – NOUS SOMMES HEUREUX D’AVOIR LAISSÉ UNE EMPREINTE POSITIVE dans notre environnement!

Guest blog today from Carly Schwartz, student/mentee in the 2010 National Mentoring Program.  Thanks Carly and Best of Luck at Meal Exchange this summer. Cheers!

On the morning of May 20th, 2010, there was an anxious buzz in the air. Not only was it a beautiful day outside in downtown Toronto, but it was also the day where students of the National Mentoring Program and their charities would meet their Molson mentors face-to-face over lunch at the Toronto Board of Trade. There was already a solid relationship formed between the mentors and mentees through weekly phone calls and emails over the past few months, but finally connecting the voice to a face was an exciting experience!

The afternoon began with some mingling. Having never met my mentor before, it was quite fun trying to pick out who I thought would be the face to the voice I knew like the back of my hand! Once everyone connected with their mentors and settled in with their delicious food, NMP Founder Mary Donohue welcomed us all and introduced us to Amir Remtulla, Molson Coors Canada Senior Director Public Affairs. Mr. Remtulla presented Mr. Ootes, humanitarian and City of Toronto Councillor, who spoke of the value of community volunteering, something which everyone involved in the National Mentoring Program is extremely passionate about and can relate to in their own way.

As the lunch began to wind down, students were able to chat with each other and share their stories from the first couple weeks of working with their charities. It was not only exciting meeting my Molson mentor, but also a lot of fun getting a chance to see what amazing projects my friends were tackling this summer. With all the excitement and anticipation in the air, it is evident that this summer is going to be an unforgettable one for all the students, mentors, and their charities!

Last week was the Molson/National Mentoring Program cohort 2 wrap up lunch with special guests Senator Mercer and Ferg Devins, Chief Public Affairs Officer at Molson Coors Canada.  Thanks to Queen’s University student Emily Dimytosh for writing this guest post. Cheers! MolsonTonia

Above: The Queen’s NMP student team is joined by their mentors, NMP founder Mary Donohue, Ferg Devins and Senator Mercer to receive their awards

The professors that require National Mentoring Program Students to write the classic “How I spent my summer vacation” essay are in for quite the surprise.

From coordinating junior trade missions to South America to managing art shows and silent auctions, from drafting Board of Directors education packages to crafting marketing plans to increase volunteering, NMP Students’ summer jobs were anything but ordinary.

On Friday, November 6^th, 2009 students were joined by their mentors, charities, Molson Coors Chief Public Affairs Officer Ferg Devins, and Senator Mercer to celebrate the end of the second cohort of Molson’s National Mentoring Program. This time last year, the 20 students from Wilfred Laurier University, Queen’s School of Business, University of Toronto, Dalhousie University, and University of Alberta were each paired with a mentor from Molson Coors and partnered with a Canadian charity. Over the summer, students worked with their charity under the guidance of their mentor to solve a variety of business problems.

Senator Mercer shared his experience with mentoring, and congratulated the students on their accomplishments. Mr. Devins shared the history of the National Mentoring Program, and presented each student with an Award of Distinction. Following the awards presentation, students were able to share their summer adventures in corporate and non-profit partnerships.

On behalf of the National Mentoring Program students, I would like to thank all of the charities for opening their doors to us and the Molson Mentors for helping us through them. I would also like to NMP Founder Mary Donohue and Molson Coors for affording us this experience – it was truly the summer job of a lifetime!

Emily.

More photos

The fifth floor of the School of Business building on the beautiful University of Alberta campus played host to the first luncheon of the participants in this year’s initial National Mentoring Program in Western Canada. In partnership with the University of Alberta, two Molson Edmonton employees (myself and Brad Devarennes, Manager of Retail in Alberta) have been paired with two University of Alberta students (Jessica and Wan Ting) who were interested in learning more about real world Corporate Social Responsibility.  Together we are working with two fantastic local charitible organizations, Jessica and myself with HIV Edmonton and Wan Ting and Brad with Edmonton’s Food Bank, in finding solutions to meet their challenges. Molson is funding the summer postitions at the charities for Jessica and Wan Ting.

At the luncheon, we heard from Area Vice President for Western Canada Rick Tousaw who gave a great talk on Molson’s 223 year legacy of Corporate Social Responsibility and our support of the National Mentoring program.

Listen to Rick:

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L to R: Brad Devarennes, Manager Alberta Retail, Molson; Wan Ting, University of Alberta business student; Fay Lucy, Edmonton’s Food Bank; Misty Bjerky, HIV Edmonton; Jessica Peck, University of Alberta business student; Rick Tousaw, Area Vice President – Western Canada, Molson; Bryan Cox, Director Government and Public Affairs – Western Canada, Molson

Our thanks to Dale McNeely and Michelle Height from the University of Alberta, who are working with Molson on this important program and who facilitated a great luncheon!

Personally, I am very honoured to be a part of the National Mentoring Program, a program that is striving to make a real difference in our communities, with the assistance of our future leaders like Jessica and Wan Ting.

More to come on this.

Cheers!

The National Mentoring Program has expanded to the East Coast, and I’m thrilled to have JoAnne Akerboom guest blog about the program at Dalhousie.  Cheers, Tonia

Dalhousie student mentees, Molson mentors, Robert Zed, Mary Donohue and JoAnne Akerboom

I was first introduced to the National Mentoring Program (NMP) when I met Mary Donahue last fall. Her enthusiasm and energy for this initiative goes beyond compare. Having always had an interest in helping people and organization succeed and thrive, I was quickly caught up in idea of companies supporting the development of students by using their philanthropic funds for students’ projects in community initiatives. It a win-win-win for all involved.

Most recently at the National Mentoring Luncheon sponsored by Molson (one of the first supporters of the NMP, the keynote speaker Robert Zed struck a chord that resonated with everyone in the room when he spoke of his involvement in volunteerism. I was particularly touched when Robert mentioned how his own children looked for ways to assist those in need in the community. As a parent there is no greater sense of accomplishment than to have our children be kind and generous to others.

It is also amazing to hear how some people criticize those who volunteer with the thought that the volunteer gains from this. Of course they gain a lot!

In addition to feeling great, you gain a network of contacts that know what you can do and this is invaluable. In working with business students at Dalhousie University we stress the value of networking and how important it is. We also stress that in addition to who you know, it’s what they know about you and what you can contribute to their organization – what better way to do this than to contribute to a community initiative.

So thank you Mary for this brilliant Mentoring Program and thank you to the folks at Molson and the other companies that support the NMP. You provide the opportunities for our students to learn the value of community contribution, the value of large corporations in our economy and the need for all of us to participate in creating kind of community we want to live, work and play in.

JoAnne Akerboom

Executive Director

External Affairs

Faculty of Management

Dalhousie University

One of Molson’s very talented National Mentoring Program students, Yasmin Khaleghi ,was responsible for organizing a fashion show last weekend, which Molson sponsored. Thanks for recapping the night/event for us Yasmin!  Cheers, Tonia.

Yasmin:  On Sat Mar 28th, we had a fashion show that I had personally organized in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation with all the proceeds being donated to the organization. The event is an annual fashion show called U of T Next Top Model, intended to bring awareness about Breast Cancer to the campus and getting university students involved in a fun, sophisticated activity, show casing the designs by some of the finest designers and well-known boutiques across the city.

I had 20 models, 10 male and 10 female presenting the clothing lines from brands such as FCUK and American Apparel, and boutiques such as Over the Rainbow and Poise, and a special collection designed by an up and coming local designer by the name of Salem Moussallam under the brand “Hibebe”. The event was an absolute success attracting hundreds of students and creating a well put together and fun event for everyone to enjoy and remember.

We are extremely thankful to Molson, who kindly sponsored this great event for us and made it all happen.

- Yasmin

Thanks to Emily Dimytosh, NMP student at Queen’s University, for taking the time to write a guest blog post.  Emily will be connected with Protect Our Water and Environmental Resources (P.O.W.E.R.) this summer and mentored Ryan Stewart, Molson Field Marketing Manager. Cheers, Tonia

On Friday April 3, the NMP team gathered for its second speaker’s luncheon. Mentors, mentees, charities, and Molson’s staff were delighted to be joined by His Honour David Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. His Honour stressed the importance of vision in leadership, and heard from both mentees and charities on their strategic plans for the summer. His Honour also emphasized the significance of mentorship, sharing his personal experiences with mentors and applauding the NMP for cultivating these relationships among today’s youth.
Thank you to His Honour for such inspiring words, especially with T-Minus 3 weeks until projects launch.

– Emily Dimytosh