Climber and Volunteer Stories
H&M’s corporate team geared up for WWF’s 23rd Annual Canada Life CN Tower Climb!
Why did H&M decide to join WWF in its 23rd Annual CN Tower Climb?
At H&M, we believe in joining forces and, through close collaboration, strengthening communities. In 2013, together with WWF, we are taking this to a whole new level. On a global scale, we have committed to a three-year partnership in which we will work together towards implementing a holistic water stewardship strategy that aims to be a game changer for our industry and beyond, and locally, we are teaming up with WWF in its 23rd Annual Canada Life CN Tower Climb. This exciting and exhilarating event goes hand-in-hand with H&M’s commitment to sustainability and we are thrilled to support WWF’s conservation work.
How did you internally promote this event?
Word of mouth, as well as beautifully designed posters by WWF displayed in every place imaginable in the office (on the fridge, by the copier and water cooler, etc.).
Why do you think it’s important for employees to support a campaign like the Climb?
I think it’s important for employees to get out of the office to support our natural world for a multitude of reasons!
- To live and breathe their company’s values.
- To contribute to their company’s Corporate Social Responsibility and philanthropic efforts.
- To educate for real change and influence their behavior.
- To encourage team building and boost employee engagement.
- Tie the ‘event’ back to the company’s sustainability vision
- Share your own experiences about how easy it is to register and raise funds
- Share with them that the average person, with no training, makes it to the top in approximately 30 minutes. This tag line seems to have done the trick around here!
- Be the first to make a donation – to yourself! Doing so sets the standard that sponsors are most likely to follow.
- Get social. Let your family, friends, coworkers and clients know about your involvement in the Climb via mass text messages and e-mails, Twitter, Facebook, etc.
- Add a personal touch to your personal Fundraising Page with a message – this will help motivate your sponsors to give generously.
Reaching the 1776th step (for the first time) alongside my colleagues!
How will your team celebrate after?
It’ll go one of two ways:
- Straight home to shower and sleep or
- Head to a nearby restaurant together to celebrate our accomplishment, eat dinner, have some drinks and share some good laughs!
At H&M, we have seven commitments that we work towards for a more sustainable fashion future. As the Conscious Coordinator for Canada, I feel a huge responsibility to bring awareness to these commitments, as well guide our work in this area. To make others believe in what you believe in, you have to believe in it yourself first. Learn as much as you can about the Climb and why it happens. Engage your colleagues by telling them about the climb; tie it back to your company’s sustainability vision, make them aware of the great prizes up for grabs!
Climb with us!
HP shares lessons learned from 6 years of Climbing the CN Tower for WWF!
Gillian hangs with Panda at the HP Canada head office in Toronto © WWF-Canada
Why do you think HP gets such strong representation year after year?
We’re successful because the event has such strong support from top management. Lloyd Bryant, Vice President & General Manager at HP, and veteran climber: “I have participated in the CN Tower Climb for the past 5 years and will be participating again this year! It is truly a rewarding experience to support WWF in this worthy cause and great fun joining fellow colleagues in a race to the top.”
Why so many?
Often, employees are looking for opportunities to make a difference, but they don’t always find them in their day-to-day life.
The Climb is a chance for employees to have fun and challenge themselves, while raising money for an amazing cause. Many managers also use the event as an opportunity for team building within their business unit.
How did you promote the event internally?
- Send emails on behalf of Lloyd Bryant to all GTA employees encouraging them to sign up.
- Have WWF and panda visit HP head office.
- Display posters and digital signs in our buildings.
- Put up posters in our gym to recruit.
- Implement a Climb training program at the gym.
- Offer early bird registration prizes.
- Offer prizes for our teams. Categories include: Most team spirit, most money raised (individual and team), fastest climber, etc.
- Talk to people! From chatting about the climb in the elevator to the lunch table, I try to get people engaged wherever I can.
- Start recruiting early. It’s never too early to get people to start thinking about the Climb.
- Make it FUN. By offering prizes in categories such as “most team spirit,” it shows that the Climb is about having fun as well as raising money for a good cause.
- Post, post, post. I posted links to my personal page through my Facebook, email, and Twitter and found that it helped garner donations quickly and efficiently.
- Set a challenging personal goal. I set an aggressive fundraising goal for myself that encouraged me to work harder at raising money.
- Let people know that every donation matters. Every dollar helps make a difference.
In preparation for the Climb, we started to take the stairs in the morning and at the end of the day. We also had a training program through our gym that helped climbers condition themselves for the event. Check out our training program below:
2013 CN Tower Climb Training Program
This program is intended for first time climbers, or for the climber who is just looking to complete the challenge.
*Week of Mar. 17th – 7 flights, 3x or 12 mins
*Week of Mar. 24th – 7 flights, 4x or 16 mins
*Week of Mar. 31st – 7 flights, 5x or 20 mins
*Week of Apr. 7th – 7 flights, 7x or 28 mins
*Week of April 14th - 7 flights, 5x or 20 mins
*Week of April 21st – 7 flights, 3x or 12 mins
*Complete 3- 4 times per week
What did you look forward to most on Climb day?
I most looked forward to the feeling of accomplishment as I climbed that last flight of stairs!
How will your team celebrate after?
Our team is going to celebrate by joining other climbers at the Team Challenge after party for food, drinks and even more fun!
Living Planet @ Work raises over $90,000 for WWF's conservation work!
On April 25, 2013, our passionate community of Living Planet @ Work champions in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area climbed 1776 steps to the top of the CN Tower in support of WWF-Canada and our work to protect the planet.
Champions recruited, motivated, fundraised, trained and then conquered!
We are pleased to announce that this amazing group of Living Planet @ Work companies raised over $90,000 for conservation!
What an incredible achievement, especially for those who took that first and all-important step to register and Climb for the very first time.
The Climb is our most significant fundraiser of the year. We count on these critical funds to continue the work that we do here at WWF-Canada. Among many things, we use these funds to achieve our conservation goals such as:
- Mapping Canada’s renewable energy potential.
- Developing plans for mitigating and adapting to climate change.
- Enhancing wildlife trade regulation.
- Protecting endangered shark populations.
- Funding field research to determine the effects of global warming on the long-term condition of polar bears.
- Leading an approach to freshwater conservation focusing on environmental flows at the watershed scale.
WWF connects the power of a strong global network to on-the-ground conservation efforts across Canada. The depth and breadth of our work is only possible because people like you, believe in us.
We want to take this opportunity to recognize our top 5 Living Planet @ Work company teams and their employees for doing just that— believing in us. Congratulations for being our top Living Planet @ Work Climb fundraisers!
Sears Canada brought almost 75 employees and raised over $21,000
HP Canada participated in their 7th Climb and raised over $12,500
Accenture Canada had 24 climbers and raised more than $8,000
Green4Good climbed for the first time and rocked fundraising with more than $7,000
Sprucegrove Investments represented with two teams and fundraised over $5,500
Special mentions go out to the following teams who also came out strong for this year's Climb. Your dedication and passion is inspiring!
Bullfrog Power
Daggerwing Group
Delta Hotels
H&M Canada
Miratel
P&G Canada
Pets Plus Us (RSA)
Robert Bosch Inc.
Staples
Symcor
T4G
TD Insurance
Waterfront Toronto
... And all those who Climbed on the Living Planet @ Work team!
With over 5,000 climbers, 479 volunteers, and all our donors, sponsors and partners, the 23rd Annual Canada Life CN Tower Climb for WWF was a huge success! Together, you helped raise $1,240,257.25 to help protect species at risk and the places they call home.
Thank you!!
Resources:
Fundraising Tips
Pledge Form
Asking Made Easy
Climb Poster
Event Checklist & Map
Sponsor a Climber
Need Help?
Phone:
(416) 484-7700
Toll Free:
1(800) 26 PANDA
Email:
events@wwfcanada.org
Title Sponsor
Event Sponsors
© All photos, graphics and images on this site remain the copyright of WWF, unless otherwise noted, and should not be downloaded without prior permission. © 2011 WWF-Canada; © 1986 Panda symbol WWF-World Wide Fund For Nature (also known as World Wildlife Fund); ® "WWF" is a WWF Registered Trademark. Charitable Reg.#11930 4954 RR0001.