Celebrating the Season of Giving at BrettYoung
The magic of the holidays is in the air at BrettYoung.
‘Tis the season of giving (back), and the BrettYoung Social Committee has several activities planned to celebrate the hard work of all our employees and support charitable organizations in our community.
Peter Smith, the Head of the Social Committee, helps organize a variety of events, including pancake breakfasts, company lunches and holiday parties. We recently sat down with Peter to get the inside scoop on what the committee has planned for this year’s holiday festivities.
Giving Back with Bring a Thing
The Social Committee at BrettYoung is driven by the idea of benefitting those around them—it’s employees celebrating employees and supporting the more vulnerable members of our communities. This is how “Bring a Thing”, a campaign in support of Turning Leaf Support Services, came to life.
Turning Leaf is a non-profit, charitable organization designed to provide crisis intervention, treatment, and support services to those living with mental illness and intellectual challenges. They provide unconditional acceptance and customized, person-centred care. BrettYoung is proud to have built a strong relationship with Turning Leaf over the last decade, one that’s led to many positive conversations, donations and collaborations.
The choice of supporting a foundation like Turning Leaf is a very personal one to the owners of BrettYoung. Having a child with developmental disabilities, there were often times when Lloyd Dyck and his family were unable to access proper supports and resources. Supporting Turning Leaf now means assisting other families and individuals that may be experiencing similar struggles.
The aim of the Bring a Thing campaign is to fill a gap in Turning Leaf’s services by providing them with the supplies that their community need most. BrettYoung employees contribute by supplying items like socks, hygiene products, and winter wear. Once collected and packed, these essentials are sent over to Turning Leaf to help make a difference in someone’s life. Smith says that working with Turning Leaf has been a great partnership.
Building Sustainable Partnerships
BrettYoung and Turning Leaf also work together to provide sustainable, reliable employment opportunities for people using Turning Leaf’s services. Referred to as supported employees, Turning Leaf participants, most of whom are living with intellectual challenges, come to BrettYoung alongside a supervisor and given the opportunity to get on-the-job experience. While BrettYoung works with a few organizations in this way, the majority of our supported employees are Turning Leaf participants.
“We need employees. They’re looking to employ people,” says Smith.
This decade long relationship has been supported and driven by these strong employee relationships. “it’s a real win-win. It works out for both of us,” Smith says. It helps with employee retention, and also allows an opportunity to provide dignified work for a vulnerable community of people.
It’s also helped inform the policies and culture at BrettYoung. “We learned a little bit more about the logistical, life situations of our employees,” Smith explains.
“We try not to leave any of our employees in a lurch,” explains Smith. “Many employees have unique situations, and emphasizing awareness and flexibility is key to helping them plan accordingly.”
Happy Holidays
Thank you for all of your support throughout a year that was challenging for many, and we hope you have a wonderful holiday season! If you’re able, please join BrettYoung in supporting Turning Leaf and its continued activities to support the vulnerable people in our communities.
Happy holidays from everyone at BrettYoung!