On June 1, 2011, the Orangeville office participated in the annual “Big Bike” event for the Heart & Stroke Foundation.  The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada is celebrating 50 years of leading the way to better cardiovascular health for Canadians through research, health promotion, and advocacy.
 
Our goal was to raise $2,000 and we ended up raising more than $3,000 for the cause.  We had lots of fun doing this, and many, many thanks to all of you who participated in the event, and to all the people who supported the team.  We intend to continue this for next year, hoping that will become an annual tradition for Orangeville office, in the true spirit of giving back to the community.

http://www.bigbike.ca/    http://www.heartandstroke.on.ca/

One Friday in May, nearly the entire Winnipeg office took part in a Habitat for Humanity building project near the city centre.  This was an opportunity for team building, learning new skills, and supporting a worthwhile cause in a hands-on way.

Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit organization that provides a hand up (not a hand out) to poor families making the step to owning a home.  The homes are simple but well-constructed.  The site where we volunteered had four modest duplex units near the beginning of their construction.   Future homeowners are given an interest-free mortgage with payments appropriate to their low income status, however, they also must contribute 500 hours of their own labour, either on their own home or at another Habitat site.  Besides “sweat equity” from the future homeowners, the homes are constructed through donations of materials or reduced rates from local businesses, and armies of volunteers, such as our group from Burnside.

During the day we were at the site, the homes had the foundations and basement walls, and main floors in place.  While some of us spread wood chips from an existing pile all over the site others built railings around each basement opening, and still others were in the basements installing floor joists.  At the end of the day all the railings were up, the wood chip pile was no more, and two more homes were ready for the basement floor.

The Habitat staff was impressed with the progress our group made in one day. Our bodies may have been less impressed, as the impact of shoveling and swinging a hammer all day set in on Saturday morning.  However, the Winnipeg staff was grateful for the opportunity to get out of the office and under the sun for a day and contribute to the community in such a tangible way.

Over the years, Burnside has had the privilege of being a part of many unique undertakings.  The Royal Distributing Athletic Performance Centre (Centre) at Marden is a facility that definitely meets the ‘unique’ criteria.  The Centre is a 56,000 ft2  indoor sports facility that focuses on the indoor playing field and provides the associated amenities (change, training, board, rooms, etc.) as well as a 4-lane 220 m track around the playing field.

The Centre is situated on 64 acres of parkland in the Township of Guelph/Eramosa (Township) at Marden.  Burnside assisted the Township to provide the water supply, on-site wastewater treatment and disposal, storm water management (SWM), site grading and drainage systems.  More details on the Centre itself can be found at www.get.on.ca/marden-house-home.aspx.

Greening features were extensively included throughout the design of the Centre.  The ‘green’ storm water management facility designed by Burnside (SWM) professionals is highlighted on the above link to the Centre’s web page.

In continuing with the theme of ‘giving back’ that Burnside has adopted through our 40th year in business, Burnside is pleased to sponsor the ‘Accessible Viewing Zone’ in the Centre.  Burnside has made a two year pledge of support to the Township of Guelph/Eramosa.  The Township is a valued client that Burnside has provided engineering services for since the amalgamation of the former Townships of Guelph and Eramosa in 1999.  Prior to amalgamation, municipal drainage services were provided to both Guelph and Eramosa.

The above photograph captures the official presentation of the 2010 pledge to Robin Milne, Parks and Recreation Manager and Chris Zamin, Facility Coordinator by members of the Project Team, Jackie Kay, Carley Gratrix, and John Burns.

The Stratford office has been grateful for the many years of support from our agricultural client base.  The rural sector continues to be our primary foundation.

In the spirit of community commitment and client appreciation, Burnside recently took the initiative to help the local Rotary Complex reach its capital campaign goal by making a donation supporting the naming of the Agriplex.  This facility plays host to over ten local, provincial, and national agricultural events.  Each October, the Agriplex undergoes a transformation converting a 24,000 square foot space from an agricultural event barn to a first class multi-use sports facility with the installation of Canada’s largest removable maple hardwood zipper floor.  This recreational facility is booked solid with local leagues, as well as provincial and national competitions.

This year the Guelph office ran a Cancer Fundraising Campaign in honour of Peter Somers a loved colleague who lost a battle with Cancer.

The fundraiser ran for one week and the planned events included a bagel breakfast, daffodil sales, daffodil pin sales and a Canadian Tire Money draw. The main event included a chili lunch and Wii Ski Jump contest (see picture below)  that was held in our new large boardroom, named the Somers Room.

In total, the Guelph Office raised approximately $700 for the Canadian Cancer Society, Wellington County Unit. Each member that supported our fundraising events had their name entered into a draw to win two Blue Jay Tickets provided by Burnside. 

We would like to thank those that contributed.  The money raised will be used for a variety of different endeavors.  The Canadian Cancer Society not only funds vital life-saving research but it also funds community support services for cancer patients and their families.

The Collingwood office recently participated in the annual Big Brothers and Big Sisters “Bowl for Kids Sake” event.  Bowl for Kids Sake is Big Brothers/Sisters' premier ‘fun-raising’ event where people get together with friends, family, and co-workers and have a fun time bowling in support of mentoring programs communities.

The event was well attended by Burnside staff, where everyone got to share bowling, dinner and a few laughs with one another.  While the group may not have knocked down as many pins as they had hoped, we raised over $3,700 for the cause and managed to come in First Place for most business donations raised.  Jen Koen led the team in donations and came in Second Place overall for individual adult donations with an amazing $1,145 raised. We hope to continue to support Big Brothers Big Sisters in the years to come.     www.bowlforkidssake.ca

In the spirit of the “40 Days of Giving”, Burnside Collingwood recently sponsored and participated in the NVCA's efforts to further establish vegetation along the Black Ash Creek in Collingwood. The day involved planting trees along the banks of the Black Ash and while the rainy conditions made for soggy work, all persevered and managed to have some fun too.  The hard work was greatly appreciated by the NVCA and further solidifies an already strong relationship that Burnside has with the local conservation authority.

For further details click here >>>

Depending on where you get your information, Burkina Faso is listed as between the third and sixth poorest nation on earth.  My journey would take me three hours north of the capital city to the village of Sandebas.

I was travelling as part of a group of volunteers with “Friends in Action”. This international organization has been involved with well drilling in Burkina Faso since 2005. The program is entirely supported by volunteers and donations. 

On landing I was immediately struck by the signs of poverty.  The country can simply be described as a large, flat dust bowl, with a few scattered houses.  In the north you are beginning to enter The Sahel and daytime temperatures are over 45°C.  I thought I was ready for all of this; I had the technical background (trained hydrogeologist); the physical background (raised in a hot tropical country); and I had experience working in developing countries, however none of this prepared me for what I encountered.

Sandebas is a small mud hut village of approximately
70 families.  Water is a precious commodity and I witnessed a continuous stream of villagers heading over to their old low producing well to get water.  There were long line ups as it would take over 10 minutes for them
to pump 5 gallons of water. The arrival of our team was met with great expectation. 

That day I learned that it was not my carefully honed hydrogeological skills that would be called on most of
the time, but those gathered from clearing sidewalks
and driveways of snow!  We drilled (and shoveled) over 900 feet in that first week.  I was also literally thrown into the fire as in the first week Burkina Faso set records for being the hottest country in Africa.  My Jamaican upbringing did not prepare me for the daytime temperatures. 

In addition to Sandebas we would later drill in a nearby village called Gourcy and also in a small village called Sokoula that is just east of the capital city of Ouagadougou.  At the end of our trip we had drilled a total of five holes.  Of the five, water was successfully found on two occasions, two were dry and one hole was unable to be kept open although we encountered water.  We had been able to provide water in Sandebas and in Sokoula. The villagers were ecstatic and we were gifted with a total of five chickens, a bowl of millet pancakes and numerous handshakes of gratitude. Over the period we had to overcome many setbacks, including parts breakage, equipment malfunctions, casing slippages and dry holes. Somehow through it all we were able to find enough resources and skills within the team to fight through the setbacks. This experience was reminiscent of the way the locals fight through their daily existence. It confirmed how much we have to be grateful for in Canada and how a small sacrifice on our part can go a long way to making a big difference for people in other countries.

Click here for more information >>>