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Christmas Cheer Hampers Go Green! |
| Posted by Administrator (admin) on Jan 17 2009 at 5:22 PM |
With the help of the Zero Waste Action Team, this year's Christmas Cheer Hampers have gone green! This Fall, the ZWATeam's Plastic Bag Reduction Committee identified that purchasing reusable bags to reduce waste and blue bags for curbside recycling may present a challenge for many families living with poverty. To assist these families, the Committee collected 2600 reusable bags and 13,000 blue bags from members, local retailers, citizens and organizations. Transportation and Works CTB provided 2600 copies of its Mr. Green Guide with tips on how to reduce waste and recycle. Ontario Power Generation, a very active ZWATeam member, donated an additional 2500+ reusable bags to replace plastic bags for packing hamper turkeys. Staff at OPG's local and regional offices were challenged to "fill-a-bag" with food for the Christmas Cheer Hampers. More than 250 reusable bags filled with food and cheques for $2,000 and $500.00 were presented to Linda Gambee, Christmas Cheer Chair at a media at OPG's Generating Station on Mission Island on December 12.
The ZWATeam donated five hundred dollars for the purchase of reusable bags and split the cost of the blue bags with Boreal Solutions, Recool and Pack Pros Plus. Patrick Fenlon, ZWATeam Chair presented Linda with a sample Green Package at the Media Event. 2600 Green Packages containing a reusable bag, 5 blue bags and a Mr. Green Guide were bundled by students and ZWATeam members and their families at an event hosted by Churchill High School on December 13. Boreal Solutions delivered the packages to the Christmas Cheer Hamper Office for packing by their busy volunteers on Dec. 16 and 17th. What a great team effort!
Heartfelt thanks to the major sponsors and all those who helped make this initiative a great success: Derrick Brooks and Jane Todd, OPG