Ottawa, Ontario April 12, 2018 – The Ottawa Gatineau Auto Show and exhibitors have made yet another generous donation to Habitat for Humanity ReStore for the third consecutive year since the start of the Leave a Legacy Program at the Shaw Centre in 2016. At the end of the 32nd annual four day show which brought over 350 cars from 34 different manufacturers and thousands of visitors to the state of the art facility, almost 70, 000 pounds, which is roughly 19,000 sq. ft. of gently-used carpeting from the Auto Show was donated to the store, which sells a wide range of new and used building materials. Proceeds from the store help finance the important work being done by the local Habitat for Humanity office.
This donation marks the 3rd one of the year for Shaw Centre’s Leave a Legacy program. The Leave a Legacy Program – one of three facility Corporate Social Responsibility programs – offers clients the ability to leave a lasting environmental and social impact providing much needed goods to deserving not-for-profit organizations and communities in need across the city, and the globe. The program is presented to clients during the planning stage of their events, complimenting the facility’s dedication to sustainability and comprehensive waste management and recycling put in place when the Centre first re-opened its doors in 2011.
“People can expect to see more donations like this being facilitated by our team at the Shaw Centre,” explained the Centre’s President, Nina Kressler. “This is a program the Shaw Centre is offering to clients. It’s quite simple: host your event here and leave a legacy for the community. After your event is over, if you choose, Shaw Centre colleagues will ensure whatever salvageable materials you leave behind are delivered to your charity of choice. It’s a perfect complement to our comprehensive waste management and recycling programs which have been in place since the Centre opened.”
The Donation Program stems from the success of the recent Loblaw national conference. At its conclusion, Shaw Centre staff members packaged up over 100,000 pounds of perishable and non-perishable food which was donated to Ottawa and Gatineau Food Banks. “These opportunities to help out in our community are important to everyone at the Shaw Centre and we are delighted to help our clients make a positive impact in the Ottawa area as well,” added Kressler.
“We are pleased to donate this briefly-used carpeting to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore as part of our commitment to incorporate eco-friendly features into the Ottawa-Gatineau International Auto Show,” said show producer Peter Ginsberg. “Not only does this help raise money to support the good work being done by Habitat for Humanity, it also means that the carpet will be useful to whomever purchases it and at the same time it will keep a huge amount of material out of the landfill.”
The donation was coordinated by the Shaw Centre and facilitated by one of its official suppliers Freeman Expositions, Inc. Freeman supplied the labour to remove the carpet from the venue, then packaged and delivered it to one of its warehouses to be picked up by the Habitat for Humanity ReStore.
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ABOUT THE SHAW CENTRE
The Shaw Centre was founded as the Ottawa Congress Centre in 1983. With project funding from the Province of Ontario, the City of Ottawa and the Government of Canada, the Ottawa Congress Centre was redeveloped into a new larger facility, which opened in April 2011 as the Ottawa Convention Centre (OCC). In October 2014, the OCC and Shaw Communications entered into a 10 year naming rights partnership, rebranding the facility as the Shaw Centre. The Shaw Centre is a state-of-the-art convention centre that generates economic impact by hosting conventions, trade shows, meetings, consumer shows and events. The Shaw Centre was recently named runner-up as the world’s best convention centre by the International Association of Convention Centres (AIPC). Since re-opening its doors in 2011, the Centre has hosted over 3000 events and has added approximately $503M to the Ottawa-Gatineau area and Province of Ontario. The Shaw Centre is governed by a board of directors, managed by an expert team of professionals and operationally driven by inspired colleagues and selected suppliers whose main goal is to create extraordinary events. www.shaw-centre.com
The Ottawa Convention Centre® Corporation is an agency of the Government of Ontario.
ABOUT THE LEAVE A LEGACY PROGRAM
When your conference is done, your event materials are not – Leave a Legacy.
The Shaw Centre Leave a Legacy Program is a flexible and easy way for clients to leave a lasting community impact from their Shaw Centre event. Shaw Centre volunteer colleagues help clients identify opportunities to donate goods from their event or organization that could help those in need. Shaw Centre colleagues look after all the arrangements on a volunteer basis to ensure the donation goes where it can make a difference. Shaw Centre’s commitment to sustainability was outlined in the early planning phases of the facility, and Leave a Legacy Program is just one of the three Corporate Social Responsibility programs offered at the World-Class Convention Centre located in the heart of Canada’s Capital. Recovering surplus food for people in need through Tablée des chefs, a 15-year-old-non-profit Sustainable Food Brokerage Service, and Mealshare, a national non-profit organization that believes every child has a right to food, are two other programs offered to clients hosting events within the facility. www.shaw-centre.com/about-us/corporate-social-responsibility-programs/
ABOUT THE OTTAWA-GATINEAU INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOW
The Ottawa-Gatineau International Auto show transforms the Shaw Centre into a car-lovers paradise for four days every March. In 2016, the Cruising in the Capital show displayed cars and trucks from 30 automotive brands that ranged from the everyday to the aspirational. It also featured a motorcycle showcase and automotive accessories marketplace. www.autoshowottawa.com/
ABOUT HABITAT FOR HUMANITY CANADA
Habitat for Humanity Canada is committed to helping low-income families caught in the vicious cycle of poverty. We believe that every Canadian deserves a safe, decent and affordable place to call home, yet today more than 1.3 million Canadian families struggle without access to adequate housing. Habitat for Humanity Canada’s mission is to eradicate this crisis by mobilizing volunteers and community partners to build affordable housing and promoting homeownership as a means to breaking the cycle of poverty. https://www.habitat.ca/
ABOUT FREEMAN EXPOSITIONS, INC.
The events planning company stages thousands of conventions, corporate meetings, expositions, and trade shows every year and prepares exhibits for its clients. Its operations include event design and production, stage rigging, market research analysis, social media branding strategy, translations services, and electrical services. The company’s Concierge Elite application allows clients to track and update their freight deliveries from their mobile device or PC. Freeman was founded by D.S. “Buck” Freeman in 1927; the company is owned by the Freeman family (including chairman Donald Freeman) and company employees. https://www.freeman.com/
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT
Julia Forbes
Director, Marketing & Sponsorship
Shaw Centre
jforbes@rogers-centre.ca
613 290 7177
