'Tis the giving season

During the holiday season and indeed throughout the year, many of our Allnorth divisions take part in giving back to the community through donations as well as volunteer work. Here is a glimpse of many of our various activities. 

Kamloops sponsors two families for the holidays

Once again, the Kamloops team has sponsored two families through the Salvation Army Sponsor-a-Family program. In the spirit of giving the team raised $880. A gently used laptop for one of the teenage boys, and professional quality makeup and skincare package for the teenage girl were also donated.

With the money donated the team was able to complete the family's wish lists of wireless headphones, a jewelry-making kit, a giant colouring set, and the exact Minecraft Lego set that a young boy is hoping for. Some other gifts were picked out personally by the team for  the families: a pink unicorn stuffy, a Mario racetrack, matching jammies for two little sisters, and a shark-themed bed-in-a-bag. Like last year, the Kamloops team wanted to treat the moms too - with makeup bags filled with decadent products and a Starbucks gift card.

Each family was also provided with a $100 gift card to the Superstore and delicious treats like deluxe hot chocolates, cookies, a pile of Hershey’s Kisses for the stockings, and a Pot of Gold.

Vancouver feeds the food bank

Our Vancouver team took part in a Virtual Food Drive for the Vancouver Food Bank this year. It was set up by the team to raise funds for families and individuals in need of food aid during the holiday season. The Greater Vancouver food bank has generously offered to purchase $3 worth of food for every $1 donated. The team raised $1,315 and with Allnorth’s matching, the total rises to $2,630! Every item purchased will help to support those individuals in need across Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, and the North Shore!

St. John’s sponsors a single parent family for Christmas

Our St. John’s team has been sponsoring a single family during the holiday season for 15 years, sponsoring a single Mom or Dad and their families, and in some years even a family of four. Typically the team is assigned a family and given their wish lists complete with coat sizes, boot sizes, the kinds of toys they like, and other needs or desires. Due to the pandemic, for the past couple of years the team has purchased gift cards and dropped them off for the Single Parent Association of Newfoundland (SPAN) to distribute to families rather than being assigned a family. All told, the team raised $825.00.

This donation will go a long way in supporting our little family and helping others this holiday season. The team was able to fulfil the kid‘s wish lists and with money left over for extra grocery cards that will also help other families who may be struggling to put food on their tables this Christmas day.

Nanaimo takes shifts Ringing Salvation Army Kettles

Once again this year the Nanaimo team filled nine Salvation Army Kettle shifts as well as sponsored a corporate kettle. Eleven of our team members volunteered their time to stand with the kettle at the local grocery store for two-and-a-half-hour shifts ringing the bells and spreading cheer. The funds collected were all by donation from the community and will be used to help support the local Salvation Army’s efforts. Funds raised through donations made at Christmas kettles will be used to support Canadians in need.

And supports families . . .

The Nanaimo team also takes part in the Angle program through Volunteer Nanaimo. They sponsored a family of five with one girl and two boys. Our Nanaimo team members donated food hamper items, gifts and $840 in cash which Allnorth topped up by another $500. The team was able to purchase everything on the family’s wish list: kid’s footwear, school clothes, work pants, bike repair tools, knitting supplies, music, slippers, PJs, nail polish and then some. The family was also given gift certificates for requested items and a couple of larger grocery store gift certificates to buy a turkey, plus all the trimmings and some additional food items to celebrate the holidays together.

Prince George Clothing Drive

As the temperature dropped this fall, the Prince George Social Committee put out the call to help the less fortunate in the community. The team kicked off a clothing drive in November and delivered the collected items to St. Vincent de Paul for distribution to those in need. The St. Vincent de Paul Society provides meals, hampers, support finding resources, clothing, and home furnishings, as well as a warm safe place to gather for those facing challenges with housing and finances in Prince George.

Items were donated by many team members within the Prince George office as well as our building neighbours Ruskin Construction and RCL Transport.

Taco Tuesday at Ronald McDonald House SK

Back in August, several Saskatoon team members were honoured and grateful to serve 70+ family members for dinner. With all the supplies in hand they quickly made and served a fun “Taco Tuesday” meal. The team got to interact and serve the guest families and staff for the evening and also toured the facilities. A huge thank you to the Ronald McDonald House Charities SK for the opportunity to help serve the families of those with sick kids. The team is looking forward to the next family dinner!  Participants:

• Charlie Patrick
• Scott Neurauter
• Stephen Ioannou
• Carla Leask
• Jayelle Bischoff
• Neda Mansourifar

Information Systems leads the way on equipment donations

Allnorth is pleased to have donated computer hardware, including nine switches, 11 wireless access points and 39 laptops to the College of New Caledonia. The hardware will provide students with more opportunities for hands-on experience, putting the skills they are learning into practice. Read more

Movember

This November Allnorth came together as a team to raise funds and awareness for the Movember cause. The Allnorth MOstachios raised a total of $8,070 by Nov. 30. Allnorth topped up the pot to reach the team's goal of $10,000. Team members from many divisions participated by growing some awesome mustaches, donating money, and walking over 200 kilometers.

Sharing financial know-how

Vancouver team member Elaine Jang has also graciously donated her time to providing pro-bono financial expertise to the Centre of Training Excellence in Mining, as the Chair of, the Finance Committee. CTEM’s mission is “to connect industry, students, job seekers, training providers and communities by understanding industry skills requirements, facilitating industry-driven training, and developing partnerships.”