Pembina’s company-wide 2019 United Way campaign wrapped up in December, with staff from across our operations coming together to raise an outstanding $4.5 million (or $4,471,178 to be precise!) throughout the year.
This was another record-breaking campaign, exceeding our 2018 total of $4 million. At our Pembina offices without a local United Way, employees choose a local charity for their fundraising, as part of the company-wide campaign.
Over the last 30 years, Pembina and its employees have donated thousands of volunteer hours and over $21 million to support United Way’s work in the community,” says Darren Marine, Vice President of Pembina’s Transmission Pipelines Unit and co-chair of Pembina’s 2019 United Way campaign. “Giving back is ingrained in our culture.”
The campaign focuses on investing in our communities in a way that’s meaningful for our employees, retirees and Board of Directors, as all contributions made during the campaign are fully matched by Pembina. And the Pembina team contributes far more than just dollars – the 2019 campaign saw hundreds of employees’ volunteer over 1,200 hours with local community organizations, another new record spurred on by some friendly competition between Pembina divisions.
This year saw our Grande Prairie office’s campaign, in support of the United Way of Alberta Northwest, become one of the largest campaigns in the area, while Pembina’s Redwater and Sherwood Park locations also came together as a significant campaign contributor in support of the United Way of the Alberta Capital Region. In other areas, some of our signature community initiatives included: the Valleyview office’s annual BBQ, a drive-in movie in Drayton Valley, a 100 kilometre bike to work event in Medicine Hat (Empress facility) and a cornhole tournament in Sarnia (Corunna facility), among many others.
Pembina’s biggest annual campaign is led by our Calgary office, which achieved a major milestone this year in becoming the largest campaign in the city for the first time.
Karen Young, CEO of the United Way of Calgary, outlines the impact of Pembina’s contribution: “For the past 30-years, Pembina has been an instrumental force in helping United Way improve lives in Calgary and the surrounding area. Pembina’s campaign is a wonderful reminder of what we can achieve when we work together – the great leadership, amazing employee engagement, the countless volunteer hours, and visionary community investments are a true testament of their undeniable generosity of spirit. Year-after-year, I am humbled by their unwavering commitment to our community.”
Pembina is also a founding Innovator’s Circle member of the United Way of Calgary’s “Community Hubs” initiative, investing $500,000 to date to help strengthen neighbourhoods across Calgary. Since its inception in 2017, the initiative has launched six Community Hubs in five neighbourhoods, impacting more than 200,000 Calgarians from 47 different communities.
