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The printing house charitable office
June 9,1995; Canadian FundRaiser
As The Printing House (TPH) President and Chief Executive Officer Earle O'Born sees it, "It's a part of the Canadian way of life to share in the needs of the people with whom we live and work. It is also inherent in a company's good fortune when it takes responsibility to share that fortune with the community. It's a corporate attitude we try to encourage at our 70 branch offices across the country - an attitude that our charitable teams have eagerly responded to." At TPH, commitment to quality and service extends to active involvement within those communities.
Things started to happen
Recognizing the need to pay close attention to TPH's charitable and community commitment, O'Born personally underwrote the costs to house a separate Charitable Office. He appointed his wife Janice O'Born as chair and hired two support staff. Wonderful things started to happen almost immediately. "When we took over The Printing House in 1988, it had a 30-year history of community support, but donations were haphazard, and each branch supported their own causes. We needed more consistency and central control to monitor and maximize the value and impact of our giving. It was equally important for us to create a heightened sense of recognition, familiarity and compassion," says Janice.
Their charity dollars program directed support in the form of donated printing for projects and special events, often valued in the $7-10,000 range. "It's easy to give product, but not always easy to give cash," she said. "At TPH we wanted to ensure that every effort would be matched with a result, and that every customer dollar would be matched with value received... a concern that is reflected in our fundraising.
A labour of love
From their first project "The Impossible Pie," a fully underwritten, employee-designed and published cookbook, TPH ventures have been unqualified successes. To date, over 16,000 copies of the cookbook have been sold. Employees also produced a colouring book that has raised more than $200,000, and an activity book that has surpassed the 18,000 sales mark.
This has enabled the TPH charitable team in Halifax/Dartmouth to purchase an ECG monitor for a cardiac care unit, and the Vancouver team to buy a fetal heart monitor. Each year the company selects three charities to receive proceeds from sales of four Christmas card designs marketed and sold by TPH. A volunteer labour of love, Christmas card sales have netted more than $70,000 in the four years since the program began.
Leading by example
While the roster of fundraising products is as long as it is impressive, so too is the $2 million that TPH has helped to raise. Whether providing trucks and drivers for pick-ups; showing up with their employees at events; selling a variety of fundraising products; or printing campaign posters, flyers, tickets, brochures, or letterhead, TPH knows how to help charities help themselves, and is happy to provide any materials that will encourage support for the general public.
An active volunteer, Janice O'Born leads by example, often lending her name, TPH support and her enormous energy to chair fundraisers for organizations such as the Hospital for Sick Children, Casey House, and the Arthritis Society. "I'm always happy to chair a function if asked and not busy," she adds.
Giving back to the community
Currently involved with the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry Foundation, The Brazilian Ball to benefit Sunnybrook Hospital Health and Science Centre Trauma Unit, the Shaw Travel Auction, the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and the Migraine Foundation, Janice summed it all up when she said, "Whatever we do, it's important for our employees to see TPH giving back to the community. Our corporate philosophy is not just to give, but to get our people involved. At a time when there is such a critical need for corporate volunteerism, financial support and in-kind product assistance, it's too bad that more Canadian companies don't do what we do."
For further information about The Charitable Office call (416) 504-5296.