JUNE 2015 HIGHLIGHTS

June 29 – We understand how important it is to work with the next generation of leaders, so we have partnered up with Global Shapers Calgary and Global Shapers Edmonton for their 2015 conference. The goal of this conference is to convene and inspire the world’s emerging leaders to develop innovative, scalable and transferable solutions to our world’s most pressing challenges. We’re looking forward to working with some inspired new leaders! http://collidingenergies.com/

 

 

June 25 – The ERA is excited to be working with UNICEF Canada to help kids in need. UNICEF is the world’s leading child-focused humanitarian organization. They work in 192 countries throughout the world –  their determination and reach are unparalleled. Stay tuned for more information soon!

June 18 – Good news for a high-need elementary school! The ERA originally met St. Peter School’s Principal Bruce Campbell when he came to pick up a laptop that had been donated to the school by ERA behalf of an anonymous donor. While speaking with him, it became evident that students at the school were in need of much more than one laptop. Knowing this, the ERA decided we needed to help these deserving students by providing them with the technology necessary to excel at their schoolwork and be given the same opportunities as their peers.

On June 17,  ERA presented an assembly of children (between the ages of 5 and 11) at St. Peter School with laptops for 20 students to take home and share with their families. But we knew these kids deserved something extra special, so we called up The Calgary Flames mascot, the one and only Harvey the Hound, and asked him if he would come out and present the laptops with us. And, in exchange for just one three pound Milkbone, he did! We had to keep him hidden though, to ensure complete surprise. There is very little you can hide a six and a half foot bipedal dog-human behind, but we managed, and somehow not a single student spotted him prior to the big reveal.

 

 

For the kids, It started off as just a regular assembly, and from my vantage point at the back of the gymnasium I could see more than a few distracted faces among the group (sorry Mr. Campbell….) Principal Campbell spoke to students about the importance of recycling and reuse, especially in regard to electronic equipment, and told the students that some of them would be receiving their very own laptops in just a few moments. Then, as the wheeled cage containing the laptops slowly entered the gym through a side door, I started to see some heads turn and heard a whispered… “Harvey!” This realization spread quickly throughout the gymnasium and turned into a full blown frenzy as the famous mascot pushed a cart full of technology in…

The video can be viewed here.

 

 

And finally, the grand entrance! Please click here view the video of the big surprise (students notice something amiss at 0:42)

 

 

Once students had (mostly) recovered from their shock and excitement, Principal Campbell began announcing the laptop recipients, who came to the front of the gym for a high-five or hug and photo with Harvey.

 

 

The donation portion of the assembly lasted roughly half an hour, after which we took the lucky laptop recipients outside to take some more photos. It was raining, but nobody seemed to notice.

 

 

Today was an amazing day, we saw lots of smiles and are so honored to have been able to help these awesome kids. At the end of the day, ERA’s job is simply to facilitate donations like these. True credit goes to our corporate and individual donors, who provide ERA with their unwanted equipment so we can wipe it and refurbish it for reuse by people who simply don’t have the resources for new equipment. Because many of us take access to technology for granted, its easy to forget just how necessary it is and how much of a hurdle even simple tasks can be without it. These laptops are going to make a big difference to the kids who received them and their families, and may even help open up some new opportunities for them.

So thank you to all of our donors, The Calgary Flames, for lending us their beloved Harvey, and of course the staff at St. Peter School for helping us keep the secret, arranging all the details of today’s event and letting us spend some time with their extra special students.

 

 

June 13 – The ERA was thrilled to donate several laptops to the ANAVets Unit 26 in Vancouver! ANAVets is a non profit organization whose purpose is to recognize and celebrate all those active or retired in every field of the military. Unit 26 recently hosted their annual golf tournament, and the laptops donated by ERA were raffled off to raise money for the group. Thanks for everything you do!

 

 

Calgary Flames Mascot and Local Businessman Plan a Big Surprise for Students

The Electronic Recycling Association and Harvey the Hound will surprise 20 students at a Calgary elementary school with laptops just in time for summer

CALGARY, AB — Students at St. Peter School will be paid a special visit by The Calgary Flames’ mascot, Harvey the Hound on June 17. The Electronic Recycling Association (ERA) has donated 20 refurbished laptops which will be presented to deserving students at St. Peter School on Wednesday morning.

 

“We are really excited to have Harvey present this donation,” says Bojan Paduh, founder and president of ERA. “We often make donations to students, but to kick off the summer we wanted to do something extra special and so decided to surprise the kids by inviting Harvey the Hound to their school to present the donation.”

 

Bruce Campbell, principal of St. Peter School said “We are blessed to be fortunate enough to receive these laptops for our students to utilize at home and enhance their learning.” St. Peter School will determine which 20 students between the ages of 5 and 11 the laptops will be given to.

 

Media representatives are invited to attend and cover this donation story as ERA and Harvey the Hound present 20 students of St. Peter School with their very own laptops.

 

Date: Wednesday, June 17, 2015

 

Time: 10:45 AM

 

Location: St. Peter School

720 – 58th Street S.E.

Calgary, Alberta

T2A 5L9

 

Attendees: The Electronic Recycling Association (ERA)

St. Peter School

Harvey the Hound

St. Peter School students

 

— 30 —

 

About the Electronic Recycling Association

Established in 2004, the ERA specializes in waste electronics management, reuse and recycling in Canada. We are unwaveringly committed to reducing electronic waste by extending their lifecycle through electronics donating services, recycling non-reusable electronics, computers, laptops, phones and more. With depots all across Canada, the ERA provides a great way to recycle electronic equipment safely and securely.

 

About St. Peter Elementary School

St. Peter School is a Kindergarten to Grade Six school located in the community of Penbrooke Meadows. There are 330 students with very diverse leaning needs.

 

Media inquiries may be directed to:

Kristi GartnerMarketing and Communications ManagerElectronic Recycling Association (Office) 1- 403-262-4488 ext 104 Kristi@era.ca

Karen RyhorchukSenior Communications SpecialistCalgary Catholic School District P: 403-500-2602 C: 403-605-1186

June 11 – Happy to provide 4 laptops to  MISCELLANEOUS Productions! MISCELLANEOUS is a non-profit charitable society based in Vancouver, BC. Founded by Elaine Carol, Jules Rochielle and a community-based volunteer board of directors in July 2000, we are currently in our 15th year of collaborating with culturally and socially diverse, multi-barriered and mainstream youth making performances, new media and music for the public.

 

 

June 9 – Child Care Counselor Wendy from the CASA T.I.E.S. Program is thrilled to receive a donated laptop from the Electronic Recycling Association for one of her families. CASA Child, Adolescent and Family Mental Health is a major community-focused provider of mental health services for infants, children, adolescents and their families, located in Edmonton and serving central and northern Alberta.

 

 

June 9 – The ERA is proud to announce our new corporate partnership with CIPS – Canada’s Association of Information Technology Professionals! This partnership serves to illustrate ERA’s commitment to supporting the Information Technology community, as well as our commitment to providing industry leading services to our corporate donors. For nearly 60 years, CIPS has helped strengthen the Canadian IT industry by establishing standards and sharing best practices for the benefit of individual IT professionals and the sector as a whole. CIPS offers:

June 8 – We were happy to provide a laptop donation to the MS Society of Canada, Calgary & Area Chapter this afternoon! In communities across Canada, the MS Society provides information, support, educational events and other resources for people with MS and their families. Researchers funded by the MS Society are working to develop new and more effective treatments. Their ultimate goal is to find the cure for MS. We know the laptop will be put to good use.

 

 

June 8 – The ERA recently made a donation to Embrace Rwanda International Society. Embrace Rwanda  is a grassroots community development partnership between Canada and Rwanda. Under the leadership of North Vancouver’s Hilary King, the initial focus was to provide continuing support for poverty-stricken rural families through an initiative called the “Healthy Mums Project”. Five years later, the initiative stands on four pillars of community development and support: maternal/child health, early childhood education, building capacity through a Vocational Training Centre and a community economic development/ savings and credit program to support the development of small business. In Canada, the charity is run entirely by volunteers, many of whom visit Rwanda annually to offer skills and support. This volunteer component enables 100% of all funds raised here to go directly to Rwanda.

We received a letter from one of Embrace Rwanda’s volunteers: ” These are pictures of the two people who received laptop computers.  The first is Gratien who is being trained to be a Paravet for Bugarama in Rwanda.  He is a very nice young man who is in the process of being trained for the village we visit.  He is also the parish secretary and is getting married in September.

 

The second picture is of Juliette.  She works at the hospital in Kigeme (the Diocesan centre for the area), and is in Customer Service at present but training at University and really needed a computer for her studies.

 

They were both very grateful and pleased to receive a computer.  You do realise this is very important for them as they couldn’t otherwise afford the help that this gives them.  It has unlocked doors to them that were otherwise closed.”

 

 

June 8 – We were able to provide a refurbished computer to Rose, who is a member of Immanuel Church in Vancouver.  She is a single mom and she uses the computer primarily to keep in touch with family and in job hunting.  She also helps out with people ‘on the edge’  with a listening ear and support. We wish you the best of luck Rose!

June 8 – We were happy to provide the Cerebral Palsy Association of BC with some refurbished laptops for their summer student program. The Cerebral Palsy Association of BC aims to Raise awareness of cerebral palsy in the community, assist those living with cerebral palsy to reach their maximum potential and work to see those living with cerebral palsy realizetheir place as equals in a diverse society.

 

 

June 5 – We were happy to provide Aspen Family and Community Network Societywith 5 laptops to support their programs. Aspen helps individuals and families overcome their challenges for good and, in so doing, help to find innovative solutions for broad, community-wide social issues. Strong, independent and healthy people contribute to strong communities.

 

 

June 5 – We had a fantastic time at this week’s 2015 Mayor’s Environment Expo! Spoke with lots of great students who enjoyed our quiz and especially the hard drive shredder we had onsite! Thank you to the City of Calgary andNaheed NenshiNenshi for hosting this year’s expo! Also, a big shout out to all of the other exhibitors who showed up with great, interactive exhibits for students RecycleEmpties, Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation ,Calgary Wildlife Rehabilitation Society (CWRS), CAWST – the Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology, LondonDrugs, Canadian Lung Association, Calgary Run for Water, Trout Unlimited, Calgary International Airport! Oh, and of course Kalen in grade 7, for his awesome answers!

 

 

 

June 2 – The ERA is recruiting volunteers for the summer months!

Awareness Ambassador – ERA Volunteer Position

The Electronic Recycling Association (ERA) is a non-profit organization committed to ending the e-waste crisis in Canada and providing hundreds of Canadian families in need with donated computer equipment each year. We are looking for enthusiastic, outgoing volunteers to raise awareness about us. If you are looking for a way to give back to the community while earning some great experience, this is the volunteer position for you! All volunteers will be provided a free ERA volunteer t-shirt or sweatshirt and will receive their choice of a free, refurbished laptop or desktop computer upon completion of their volunteer hours. Individual volunteers are welcome, but we encourage you to bring a friend, after all two heads are better than one, and more fun!

 

We are currently recruiting Awareness Ambassadors (AAs), who will go out into the community and speak with their neighbours about the benefits of working with ERA for their reuse and recycling needs.
There is a 12 hour minimum time commitment, which will be broken into shifts based on the volunteer’s schedule and availability. Shifts will be a minimum of 2 hours and a maximum of 6 hours each.

 

Weekend and evening AAs will be assigned residential routes, weekday AAs will be assigned business routes. Once 12 hours have been completed, the volunteer will receive their choice of refurbished laptop or desktop computer (including associated peripherals – monitor, keyboard and mouse). The volunteer will also receive a volunteer certificate of recognition and a signed reference letter from our Volunteer Manager.

 

All ERA volunteer will be required to attend an orientation session prior to beginning their volunteer hours.

 

Residential AAs

Territory will be assigned in advance, along with a form outlining each individual home on the route. Volunteer must get resident’s initial at each address. If residents are not available, flyer is to be left in the mailbox (if there is ‘no solicitation’ sign, volunteer must not approach or leave flyer behind). Volunteer is responsible for transportation to and from their assigned territory. Volunteer must be dressed in business casual attire with an ERA volunteer t-shirt (which will be provided at no cost by ERA). Comfortable shoes are recommended (running shoes etc.)

 

Volunteer will be provided with a script and FAQ sheet to help them communicate the ERA’s purpose. Volunteer will be provided with an on-call ERA employee’s phone number in the event questions come up that the volunteer is unable to answer.

Business AAs

Territory will be assigned in advance, along with a form outlining each individual business on the route. Volunteer must get the name and initial of an employee at each business. Volunteers are asked to avoid visiting businesses with signs requesting no solicitation. Volunteer is responsible for transportation to and from their assigned territory. Volunteer must be dressed in business casual attire with an ERA volunteer t-shirt (which will be provided at no cost by ERA). Comfortable shoes are recommended (running shoes etc.)

 

Volunteer will be provided with a script and FAQ sheet to help them communicate the ERA’s purpose. Volunteer will be provided with an on-call ERA employee’s phone number in the event questions come up that the volunteer is unable to answer.

 

Required Skills and Experience

– Fluent in English
– Good verbal communication skills
– Outgoing, positive personality and friendly demeanour; ability to approach new people with confidence
– Presentable appearance
– Comfortable walking door to door and standing for extended periods of time
– Minimum age requirement of 16, volunteers under the age of 18 must obtain signed parental or legal guardian consent form to participate
– Previous volunteer experience with the public will be considered an asset
– Passion for the environment and giving back to the community!

 

If you are interested in this opportunity, please forward your resume and cover letter to Kristi Gartner at kristi@era.ca or by fax to 403.206.7585. Thank you for your interest!