Western in Action: Red Deer Branch Donates Supply Overstock to Local Schools

Western in Action: Red Deer Branch Donates Supply Overstock to Local Schools

Western's brand new Red Deer Branch opened on April 7, and the team moved to a new, optimized location. During this transition, the branch took the opportunity to divert newly purchased office supplies from going to waste and recycling plants, and instead, donated them to the community. It was a great initiative taken by the Western team to give back to society and reduce their environmental footprint.

Hear more from their Team Leader:

1. Describe the effort undertaken at the Red Deer office related to re-purposing unused office supplies.

We had printer paper in every colour, yet our branch never used any other colour than our white printer paper. We called and visited numerous schools to see if they would accept our excess, unused supplies, from printer paper extra keyboards, monitors, staplers, hole punchers, binders, etc. We contacted senior centers, Ronald McDonald's House, and Safe Harbour to see if they wanted any unused masks and hand sanitizers.

The elementary school was happy to take the printer paper for their art class. Middle schools took binders, paper clips, hole punchers, and staplers and were super appreciative.

1. What prompted you to take that action?

We recognized that the materials were all in good condition but were simply not being used. I'd rather these items go to someone who can use them versus being dumped.

This initiative helped us to helped us save the environment by reducing waste, but also help our People build relationships within the communities. Many non-profit organizations depend on the generosity and support of the public to fulfill their mission and make a positive impact on the community.