As a member of Team TELUS, a group of social media folks across Canada, I have to admit that I personally benefit a lot from the company's support. From consistently being provided tools that allow me to work remotely, access to the latest fitness tech, a platform through their blog and more. I'm so grateful for the partnership I've had in place with this Vancouver institution for years, and they took it a step further this month. They asked me if they could donate $500 cash to the charity of my choice. Of course I said yes.
A big part of what they do on the corporate responsibility side flies under the banner of "We give where we live". They work to improve the lives of youth and their communities and their three major buckets are health, education and the environment. The dollar value of their donations goes into the hundreds of millions of dollars, and beyond the corporate donations of money they also do an annual Days of Giving initiative where their employees volunteer their time to local efforts that need them. Last year 17,850 of their employees and family members went out into their communities, donating the following:
- 715 bags of waste collected from river valleys, parks, and fields
- 10,179 meals prepared or served to the homeless and those in need
- 40,239 pounds of food sorted at food banks
- 6,822 trees and plants planted in parks and gardens
- 12,670 Kits for Kids assembled to provide school supplies to students in inner city schools
- 5,834 Comfort Kits and charity relief kits assembled for the homeless and others in need
- 131,295 breast cancer ribbons tied for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation
- 69 cans of paint used enliven and refresh local community organizations
- 42,574 books sorted for local book drives
That's insane. And it's just the tip of the iceberg. Over the years they've collectively brought out more than 112,000 team members, retirees, family and friends to offering 337,000 volunteer hours total. You can do a deep dive and learn more HERE.
With the donation they were giving on my behalf, I asked that they give it to the Pacific Salmon Foundation, the Vancouver-based charity that I believe does the most important work for making sure that this iconic species of fish will be around for our kids, and their kids. I've volunteered with them quite a bit over the years, and I put this money towards buying more tickets for people to attend the annual gala that took place last month. I was able to invite 2 people who hadn't been exposed to the foundation previous, raising their awareness of the issue of the salmon that they fish for and hopefully making them consider volunteering in the future. The money for the tickets went back to the foundation, which is a win on multiple levels.
Here's a quick look at what the annual gala looks like at the Vancouver Convention Centre which brings in hundreds of salmon supporters. I've sat on the volunteer planning committee for it for the past few years as well as buying tickets to attend and encouraging others to do the same. Thanks again to TELUS for helping me cast an even wider net this year!
