April 6, 2018 Ottawa, ON – Shaw Centre clients are doing good by donating their left-over event materials to communities across the city, and across the globe. St. Joe’s Women’s Centre, a local Ottawa shelter dedicated to supporting the needs of women in a safe and welcoming environment, received a donation of left-over unused conference materials including office supplies and home goods as part of the Shaw Centre Corporate Social Responsibility Program Leave a Legacy.
The Leave a Legacy Program – one of three Shaw Centre Corporate Social Responsibility programs – offers clients the ability to leave a lasting environmental and social impact providing much needed goods to deserving not-for-profit organizations and communities in need across the city, and the globe. The program is presented to clients during the planning stage of their events, complimenting the facility’s dedication to sustainability and comprehensive waste management and recycling put in place when the Centre first re-opened its doors in 2011.
On Monday afternoon, Shaw Centre colleagues came together on a volunteer as they loaded their vehicles with donated goods leftover from recent events that took place in the facility. The donation filled close to nine boxes and consisted of home goods, clothing, décor, office supplies and reusable bags generously donated from the Global Internet Jurisdiction Conference, TD Road Show, University of Ottawa Heart Institute Conference, 105th Grey Cup Festival, Shopify 2018 Summit, and Canadian Blood Services’ Blood Donor Clinic – all held at the Shaw Centre in Ottawa.
It was a rewarding experience for those involved in the donation and inspired various colleagues to find ways to contribute even more on a personal level.
“It was an eye-opening experience to meet the gracious women and children visiting St. Joe’s. Touring the shelter and meeting the staff who run it was inspiring to see first-hand. The support and opportunities it provides to those in need is truly incredible” said Christine Thiesen, Account Manager at the Shaw Centre, “I am so proud to work for an organization that believes in giving back to our community – and encouraging clients hosting events at our facility to join with us in doing just that.”
St. Joe’s Women’s Centre offers social and educational programs to promote empowerment, autonomy, and dignity in a non-judgmental atmosphere. The donation received by the Shaw Centre will be beneficial to St. Joe’s visitors.
“Thank you to the Shaw Centre team and the generosity of its clients for the wonderful donation to our Centre. The 350 cloth grocery bags are already being used upstairs at our food bank as we speak” Jennifer Clark, Executive Assistant at St. Joe’s Womens Centre remarked just moments after the Shaw Centre team departed the shelter, “We rely so heavily on the generosity of our Ottawa community here. Donations like this from the Shaw Centre are truly what keeps our Centre thriving.”
This inspiring story is one of the many ways the Shaw Centre delivers on its objective of building lasting impact while delivering extraordinary events.
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ABOUT THE SHAW CENTRE
The Shaw Centre was founded as the Ottawa Congress Centre in 1983. With project funding from the Province of Ontario, the City of Ottawa and the Government of Canada, the Ottawa Congress Centre was redeveloped into a new larger facility, which opened in April 2011 as the Ottawa Convention Centre (OCC). In October 2014, the OCC and Shaw Communications entered into a 10 year naming rights partnership, rebranding the facility as the Shaw Centre. The Shaw Centre is a state-of-the-art convention centre that generates economic impact by hosting conventions, trade shows, meetings, consumer shows and events. The Shaw Centre was recently named runner-up as the world’s best convention centre by the International Association of Convention Centres (AIPC). Since re-opening its doors in 2011, the Centre has hosted over 3000 events and has added approximately $503M to the Ottawa-Gatineau area and Province of Ontario. The Shaw Centre is governed by a board of directors, managed by an expert team of professionals and operationally driven by inspired colleagues and selected suppliers whose main goal is to create extraordinary events. www.shaw-centre.com
The Ottawa Convention Centre® Corporation is an agency of the Government of Ontario.
ABOUT THE LEAVE A LEGACY PROGRAM
When your conference is done, your event materials are not – Leave a Legacy.
The Shaw Centre Leave a Legacy Program is a flexible and easy way for clients to leave a lasting community impact from their Shaw Centre event. Shaw Centre volunteer colleagues help clients identify opportunities to donate goods from their event or organization that could help those in need. Shaw Centre colleagues look after all the arrangements on a volunteer basis to ensure the donation goes where it can make a difference. Shaw Centre’s commitment to sustainability was outlined in the early planning phases of the facility, and Leave a Legacy Program is just one of the three Corporate Social Responsibility programs offered at the World-Class Convention Centre located in the heart of Canada’s Capital. Recovering surplus food for people in need through Tablée des chefs, a 15-year-old-non-profit Sustainable Food Brokerage Service, and Mealshare, a national non-profit organization that believes every child has a right to food, are two other programs offered to clients hosting events within the facility. www.shaw-centre.com/about-us/corporate-social-responsibility-programs/
ABOUT ST. JOE’S WOMENS CENTRE
St. Joe’s Women’s Centre was founded in May 1984 to provide daytime shelter for Ottawa’s homeless women. Today, St. Joe’s Women’s Centre continues to play a significant role in the lives of many women and their children. A warm, safe, caring place to spend the day makes a real difference in one’s life. www.stjoeswomenscentre.org
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT
Julia Forbes
Director, Marketing & Sponsorship
Shaw Centre
jforbes@shaw-centre.com
613 290 7177
