Thompson
Partnering with Our Communities
We are active and generous supporters of our community in Thompson. In 2004, our community giving budget was $80,000 (Cdn. $101,000). As in years past, this money has funded a wide range of activities from civic and cultural to athletic and educational endeavours.
For instance, we continued to sponsor events such as Thompson's annual Winterfest and the Nickel Days summer festival. As well, we maintained our partnership with Heritage North, a local museum dedicated to “conserving the history of Thompson and the area.”
A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
As well, we continued to place a high priority on the work of the Thompson Community Development Corporation (TCDC). Funded by Inco, the 10-year, $1.8 million (Cdn. $2.5 million) initiative has a mandate to assist the community in achieving a more diversified economic base beyond its traditional mining base.
“We have spent the last year building a foundation,” says Rick White, the volunteer President of TCDC, who by day is Manager of McMunn and Yates Building Supplies in Thompson. “As well as becoming a formal corporation, we developed our operational plan, conducted a number of community fact-finding surveys, and began the process of looking for new premises and hiring a manager.”
According to White, it is the intention of the TCDC to initiate rather than react as it moves forward. “We want to be very proactive,” he says. “Over the coming year, we anticipate that we will be involved in relationship building, finding out where we belong and looking at how we can take things to the next level. We also want to identify initiatives and projects in specific areas that will create employment and then go out and find the people who can realize our plans. Our long-term goal is to make our community sustainable.”
Many Inco employees participated in the Canadian Cancer Centre's Relay for Life, which raised Cdn. $82,000 for cancer research. Above, a team of Inco employees who took part in the relay.
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PROMOTING COMMUNITY SPIRIT
“Thompson is an unsung destination,” says Dave Moore, Operations Manager of Radio 610 CHTM in Thompson. “We don't do a lot of chest pounding.” To help right that wrong, Moore joined the board of the newly launched Spirit Way project, an initiative to develop Thompson's potential as a tourism destination. “Our goal is to increase Thompson's profile and put us on the map,” says Moore.
By design, the Spirit Way project will create 18 points of interest on a two-kilometre walkway extending from Heritage North Museum to the Burntwood River. “One of the initiatives we hope to develop is an aboriginal school of art,” Moore says. “We also want to develop a pow-wow centre and we have plans to create a rock sculpture that will tell the story of Thompson before its modern history.”
Inco has donated Cdn. $10,000 for a mining display on the walkway. “It's a project that we are pleased to support,” says Dan McSweeney, Superintendent of Public and Government Affairs at our Manitoba Operations. “Such initiatives will help the community realize its goal of achieving economic diversity and sustainability.”
KEEPING YOUNG WORKERS SAFE
More than 60,000 Manitoba high school students have learned about workplace safety, thanks in part to an Inco donation of Cdn. $20,000 to the Safe Workers of Tomorrow program. Above, Inco employees get some pointers on how to promote workplace safety to high school students.
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Inco has donated Cdn. $20,000 (Cdn. $10,000 in 2004 and Cdn. $10,000 in 2005) to Safe Workers of Tomorrow, a program that raises awareness of safety for young people who enter the workforce. Launched in 1997 by the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba, the program has taken the message of workplace safety to more than 60,000 Manitoba high school students to date.
According to Ellen Olfert, Executive Director of the Workers of Tomorrow Safety Centre in Winnipeg, Inco's contribution has helped the organization deliver the program not only to Thompson schools but also to schools in other communities throughout the north.
If you have a science fair, you need judges. Inco employees were happy to oblige in Thompson. Above, Logan White, son of Inco employee Ron, placed first in his category at this year's science fair.
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However, our contribution involves more than financial assistance. “Inco has approached its involvement with our organization in a partnership way,” says Olfert. “It has joined forces with the United Steelworkers of America and, whenever we ask, a representative from Inco and a representative from the Steelworkers visit a school to make a presentation. It's proving to be a very effective way to get the message of workplace safety out to young people.”
LEARNING TOGETHER
Last fall, some 100 grade five students from several communities in northern Manitoba travelled to Fort Whyte Centre, an outdoor education and recreation centre located near Winnipeg, to take part in a five-day environmental and social learning experience.
These students are part of the North Meets South program developed by the Centre, and Frontier School Division and supported by Inco. Designed to educate young people about environmental issues such as conservation and climate, the program also aims to promote greater understanding between northern and southern Manitoba students.
About 100 grade five students from northern Manitoba travelled to the Fort Whyte Centre near Winnipeg, Manitoba, to learn about environmental issues thanks to Inco's support. Above, children participate in the program.
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A month prior to the actual journey, students from the north are paired with “pen pals” from the south. “They have research activities during that month in which they share the history of their respective areas, describe what grows locally and learn how their environments differ,” says Aynsley Toews, Education Coordinator at the Fort Whyte Centre. Students have an opportunity to meet at the Centre and to continue long distance environmentally-related learning activities with their new “pals” in the months following the visit.
“Environmental stewardship is an important part of our culture here at Inco,” says Dan McSweeney, Superintendent of Public and Government Affairs. “That is one of the reasons for our involvement in the North Meets South program. But there is another reason, and that is the aspect of helping different cultures understand each other to the point of creating new partnerships. Inco understands well the importance of partnerships and the need for them for a sustainable and long-term future.”
SHOWCASING TALENT
Arts are an important part of life at Thompson, and this is well reflected in the Thompson Arts Festival. An annual event that takes place each spring, the festival gives young people and adults the opportunity to showcase their talents in five areas: speaking, dance, visual arts, piano and vocal.
For decades, Inco has helped out the organization with an annual contribution that goes to providing bursaries for the winners in each talent category.
“The event helps kids develop skills like public speaking and it builds self-esteem,” says Jan Tall, a member of the festival's board who recalls playing the recorder in the festival as a child. “It's also a lot of fun, something that everyone in the community looks forward to. Last year, for example, we had 800 participants and two sold-out performances at our Arts Festival Highlights concert held in the high school auditorium.”
Employee volunteerism is thriving in Thompson. Jaye and Connie Cameron (above) did their part for The Foundation Fighting Blindness - they raised 10 per cent of pledges in the Ride For Sight fundraiser.
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VOLUNTEERING: A WAY OF LIFE
As we take pride in our corporate community giving program, so too are we proud of the fact that volunteerism is a way of life for employees at Inco's Manitoba Operations. “Whether it's working as a coach in minor hockey, raising funds for medical research or serving as a guide at the Heritage North Museum, I would say that just about all of our employees contribute to the community in some form,” says Dan McSweeney.
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