Molson in the Community

Last week, the Canadian Administrators of Volunteer Resources (CAVR) and the Professional Administrators of Volunteer Resources (PAVRO) joined together for its annual conference at the Sheraton in Hamilton, ON.  Molson was invited to join in the conversation on a panel format.

Scott Ewart, Molson’s Chief Legal and Public Affairs Officer was there along with four other panel members to discuss challenges, opportunities and issues impacting volunteerism in their sector, as well as their vision of the future of volunteerism.  Other panel members:

• Rose VanRotterdam, Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration
• Liz Weaver, Director for the Hamilton Roundtable on Poverty Reduction
• Vincenza Travale, Chair, Foundations Canada
• Ruth MacKenzie, President, Volunteer Canada

I was lucky enough to join Scott in Hamilton and listen to (and video! — below) some of the panel discussion.  One of the most interesting topics that Scott discussed was the concept of 3-dimensional philanthropy, a model of philanthropy from Mary Donohue, founder of the National Mentoring Program.  Watch the video below to learn about Molson’s  3-dimensional involvement.

As we recognize National Volunteer Week, I am so proud to be part of a corporation that celebrates its employees who have made such a difference in our communities. I have been the Donations Officer at Molson for over 17 years and have seen first hand the passion and commitment of our employees.

Molson introduced its Molson Volunteer Program (MVP) in April, 2006 and I was assigned to oversee and help execute the program for English Canada, organizing volunteer events for our employees. We used Mayor Miller’s Clean up Your City Day as the launching event with 100 employees from Toronto heading to Centennial Park, led by our President, Kevin Boyce, to beautify the park by getting rid of the garbage that accumulated over the winter months., We picked up over 100 bags of trash in one hour! The Mayor’s clean-up is now the springboard for Toronto employees to get outside, work together and clean up our grounds and prepare for the many volunteer activities that take place throughout the balance of the year.

The results of the MVP have been astounding! To date we have logged more than 6,000 volunteer hours which indicates the passion and commitment of our employees to make a difference. The MVP has provided several great team-building experiences and employees are embracing the program in true Molson fashion – working together, having fun and giving back.

I represent Molson on Volunteer Canada’s Corporate Council on Volunteering , where I work with appointees from 24 other corporations to promote volunteerism in Canada.

I am proud to work with such an enthusiastic group of employees who give so generously of their time to make a difference to the charitable sector in Canada by reaching out to those who need a helping hand. Thank you Molson volunteers — We are all Proud to play our part!

Yesterday marked the beginning of National Volunteer Week in Canada, the largest annual celebration and recognition campaign of volunteers.  From April 27th to May 3rd, organizations and individuals will thank millions of volunteers across Canada. 

Over the next week, the MolsonCommunity Blog will have some guest bloggers form organizations that Molson has volunteered with or sponsored, as well as Molson employees.

How are you celebrating national volunteer week?  Who do you want to say thanks to?  Would love to hear your stories!

For more information about National Volunteer Week, visit www.volunteer.ca

Molson employees from across the country will be taking to the streets of Toronto on Toque Tuesday February 5th. Toque Tuesday, a national effort by Raising the Roof, will be supported by the volunteer efforts of Molson employees attending their national conference in Toronto this week.

Molson heritage, history and culture has always involved a commitment to community. Kevin Boyce, President and CEO of Molson in Canada put forth the challenge to have a community activity as part of the national conference. With Feb 5th already designated as Toque Tuesday for Raising the Roof, it was a natural fit for Molson to offer up 1100 toque salespeople to hit the streets of downtown Toronto, to help raise money and combat homelessness.

1100 salespeople will sell thousands of toques in one hour on Toque Tuesday, the largest volunteer effort in Molson’s history.

Molson teamed up with Volunteer Toronto and Volunteer Canada and Raising the Roof to pull this massive deployment of volunteers together to demonstrate what one hour can do in making a difference in our community.

The Molson Community Blog will be covering the events in the early hours of February 5th and we will post the clips of the event throughout the day.

In the meantime…watch locally for opportunities to buy your toque for just $10 on Toque Tuesday and find out where you can at the Raising the Roof website.  We salute Raising the Roof and their national sponsors, GLOBAL, RBC Foundation, Direct Energy, Ecentricartsinc, Grey Worldwide, The Bargains Group, Canadian Traffic Network and Home Depot; for their ongoing efforts to combat homelessness.