In May, ice jams on the Athabasca and Clearwater rivers resulted in what some are calling a 100-year flood. Around 13,000 people were evacuated and over 1,200 structures in low-lying areas were damaged. As in the past, Suncor employees living in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB) stepped up and helped out.
Hundreds of Suncor employees volunteered across Fort McMurray. Employees helped sort donations at the Wood Buffalo Food Bank, pitched in to clean up Heritage Shipyard and Heritage Village, and spent hours helping seniors whose homes were damaged by the flood.
Suncor and FuseSocial, one of the company’s community partners, teamed up to identify local organizations in need of volunteers and connect employees with the volunteer opportunities they were most interested in. FuseSocial supports local organizations in building and enhancing their volunteer management programs as well as helping people connect with volunteer opportunities.
All employee volunteers were required to follow our COVID-19 protocols by ensuring they wore masks whenever two-metre physical distancing couldn’t be assured, and/or as directed by the volunteer organization where they’re stationed.
“Safety is our number one priority, so we needed to make sure we had the right physical distancing protocols in place so our employees can safely give back to their community,” said Shelley Powell, senior vice president, Base Plant. “Our employees were about to get out and connect with each other and the community, which they’ve always been passionate about.”
“The volunteer effort was nothing short of incredible and not at all surprising of Fort McMurray and Wood Buffalo,” said Chantal Beaver, executive director of FuseSocial.
One of our co-op students also shared the post below, which includes some fantastic photos of employees volunteering.
“Through the help of our volunteers, we were proud to help the recovery and get the heart of the community back. We are stronger together,” says Shelley Powell.
