Union Gas Helps Bring Safety to Life for Orillia Area Children

Press Release

$2,500 grant to the Orillia Kiwanis Club’s Children’s Safety Village

Orillia, ON – Union Gas is supporting the Kiwanis Children’s Safety Village to help provide safety programs to children in City of Orillia, Rama First Nation, Ramara and Severn Townships, through a $2,500 grant awarded today.

Maurice Lapointe, Union Gas utility service manager for Orillia presented the cheque to Chuck Burton, incoming president of the Orillia Kiwanis Club, today at Marchmont Public School in Severn Township where the mobile safety village is set up for the week.

The funds will assist the Kiwanis Children’s Safety Village to add several new vehicles, a life sized pop-up emergency personal display and numerous other safety items for the kids to view and enjoy hand’s on. These donations have put the Kiwanis Children’s Safety Village on the leading edge of children’s safety education.

“One of our core company values is safety, both on and off the job. Safety is so important to our employees that we are also very active in getting others to focus on it,” said Lapointe.  “That’s why we support important safety educational programs in the communities we serve, such as those offered through the Kiwanis Children’s Safety Village, which help children embrace personal safety.”

“There would be no Children’s Safety Village without the support of Union Gas. Their initial support in 2007 got the project off the ground,” said retired OPP Constable Gerry Dwyer. “They are an outstanding community partner and truly care about kid’s safety in our community.”

For more than 100 years, Union Gas has been privileged to work in more than 400 Ontario communities. Each year, the company supports the communities where its employees live and work through thousands of volunteer hours for local charitable and non-profit organizations, major charitable giving and sponsorships. Last year, Union Gas donated close to $3 million to community and charitable organizations in Ontario, including over $928,000 to United Way.  In addition, Union Gas employees, retirees, family and friends provided over 17,000 volunteer hours to help strengthen the communities where they live and work. For more information visit uniongas.com/community.

About the Kiwanis Children’s Safety Village
The Kiwanis Children’s Safety Village was created for the community by the community. Recognizing the need to create a safety program for our children that provides an interactive environment with hands-on training to address the current challenges for children in today’s world., a group of dedicated community members joined forces with the  Orillia Kiwanis Club to create Canada’s first portable Children’s Safety Village. The village travels to local schools and sets up in the school gym for a week of safety training where the children learn how to live and play safely. Over the past 5 years over 30,000 kids have attended the safety village and have received safety messages and lessons from the OPP, CN Police, Rama Police, Ramara Fire, Orillia Power, Hydro One, Simcoe County Ems and Sharp Bus Lines. For more information visit csvorillia.org.

About Union Gas
Union Gas Limited, a Spectra Energy (NYSE: SE) company, is a major Canadian natural gas storage, transmission and distribution company based in Ontario with 100 years of experience and service to customers, assets of over $6.4 billion and approximately 2,200 employees. The distribution business serves about 1.4 million residential, commercial and industrial customers in more than 400 communities across Ontario. Union Gas is one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers for 2014. For more information, visit uniongas.com.

CONTACTS:

Union Gas Limited
Andrea Stass
Manager, External Communications and Media Relations
Ph: 519 436-5490 or 1-800-571-8446 ext. 5005490
Cell: 519 365-1010
astass@uniongas.com

Kiwanis Children’s Safety Village
Gerry Dwyer
Ph:  705-238-9747
gmorra1951@yahoo.ca

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