Edmonton Valve Hosts Local Community Events for Fun and a Good Cause

Besides providing first class fluid system components and unparalleled value-added services, Edmonton Valve & Fitting has another major focus - a longstanding commitment to helping our local charitable organizations.

For many years, we have contributed regularly to both the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation and the Kids Up Front organization, both of which are local charities that are close to the hearts of many Edmontonians.

Edmonton as a city is highly involved in philanthropic activities; it’s what makes our city so unique. People and organizations in and around the city give back to the community in hugely impactful ways, and we can always count on our generous customers to contribute to our fundraisers.  As an organization, we value being connected to the community through our charitable endeavours.

The Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation is dedicated to raising funds for specialized equipment, medical education, research and specialized programs thathelp patients and their families at the Stollery. For than a decade Edmonton Valve & Fitting has hosted an annual invitation-only golf tournament at the Edmonton Petroleum Golf & Country Club, in order to raise funds for the Stollery. It's a chance for our customers and associates to mingle and to meet some Swagelok executives who come in especially for the event, as well as contribute to a wonderful cause. Along with a round of golf, we host some special fundraisers such as the “Chip & Anchor” game, where a boat is moored in one of the water hazards. Golfers can buy 3 balls for $5 and try to chip into the boat for a prize. That game alone generated $2000! “The event is a lot of fun,” says Keith Johns, President of Edmonton Valve & Fitting.  “We have a blast, and so do our customers, as we pay it forward to a local cause that we believe in.”

The golf tournament also benefits another local charity, Kids Up Front. This organization gives children and youth the opportunity to attend events with tickets that would otherwise go unused. Throughout the year, we encourage our customers to take part in the program by donating any spare tickets they may have for concerts, games, and other events. Also, all proceeds from Mulligan purchases at our annual golf tournament are donated to Kids Up Front.

Last year, we added a second event to benefit the Stollery, a car wash and barbecue that was held in the fall, to a huge success.  We suggested a $10 donation for a full car wash – inside and out – but many attendees happily gave higher donations. Also, a lot of our customers that were unable to attend the car wash sent in cash donations – even without us asking! It says a lot about the community when it only takes one mention of a charity car wash and suddenly a customer is volunteering their own time and resources, just for a chance to be involved. Powell Canada jumped at the opportunity to pull out their huge BBQ and feed our hungry car wash attendees and our dedicated volunteers. Thanks and special credit goes out to Powell! Everyone really enjoyed the event - at one point we had a line of over 40 cars waiting for our crews to wash, rinse, vacuum and dry!  We even had a visit from our local Fire Department, and treated the kids to colouring books and a tour of the truck and equipment. The car wash was a huge success, and we hope to make it an annual occurrence in the years to come.

Many of our events could not take place without the associates who head up our teams and run the events. Patricia Adair, from our marketing team, puts in countless hours each year to make sure the golf tournament goes off without a hitch. Some attendees have even called it the most organized tournament in the city!

These events develop leaders, not only within our organization, but within the community as well. Dan Constantin, the car wash lead, made sure every detail was covered for our first annual event, and he already has plans for changes and improvements for this year. These leaders coordinate our teams of volunteers, which are made up of our Edmonton Valve associates, but also of numerous family members and friends. The success of these events would be impossible without the help of these special volunteers.

Interested in finding out more about our events or in making a donation? Keep checking our blog for more information!