Viterra gives $250,000 to STARS
- Details
- Published on Friday, October 2, 2015
By Sheila Runions
Banner Staff
Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service (STARS) has a 30-year history in Alberta and a three-year history in Manitoba. The bright red helicopters have flown more than 30,000 missions and last year alone (August 2014-July 2015) were dispatched 3,084 times; more than 300 of those flights were in Manitoba. In Alberta the organization is three-quarters funded by the people, in Saskatchewan it’s a 50/50 split of government and people while Manitoba is primarily government funded — only four per cent is received in donations in Manitoba. Viterra is hoping to change those numbers so less money comes from taxpayers and more from individual/corporate sponsors. The company has given $250,000 to STARS’ second largest fundraiser — its annual calendar campaign.
While calendars are sold as early as July, it wasn’t until Sept. 23 that Viterra made its official announcement; locally, the partnership was promoted on Thursday, Sept. 24. Forrest’s customer appreciation day was the perfect opportunity for people to meet a STARS representative to hear first-hand information about the organization.
STARS’ Face to Face campaign manager Brock Baloug is “excited about the relationship; that’s what Face to Face is all about. STARS would not exist without the people and we’re visiting all 57 Viterra locations to do public presentations and raise awareness. Well, 10 of them are public like today; the other 47 we’ll go in quietly and explain to Viterra staff what we do and how we work.
“Usually you get stuff in the mail [thanking you for support] but we wanted to celebrate Viterra stepping up as our largest single supporter ever of the calendar, so that’s why we’re doing the Face to Face. Viterra is a major print sponsor of our calendar, which has been going for 22 years. They made a quarter-million dollar investment. They have not only given us that quarter-million dollars, but also more profit comes to STARS because we’re not paying that printing expense, and Viterra is also including us in their distribution network.”
According to Viterra’s website, the company “has the largest global network of marketing offices… distribution and an unrivaled marketing reach.”
Baloug says STARS completes “a lot of missions outside of cities so this is a good partnership because 70 per cent of our sales come from outside of cities. We have a team of door-to-door sales staff and volunteers or you can order your calendar online and pick it up at any of the 57 Viterra locations in the Prairies. (We will mail if we need to, but we prefer not to because that’s less profit for us.) You might not think it, but a $30 calendar supports a mission — the power of tiny goes a long way.”
Viterra surveyed employees about causes important to them and STARS ranked very high so the decision makers began looking at unique ways to become involved with STARS.
“Sponsoring the calendar was a great fit for us given our rural presence and our ability to sell them through our elevator network,” says Peter Flengeris, corporate affairs.
STARS now has 11 helicopters and all are equipped with night vision — they are the only air ambulances with this special feature. STARS also has a new helicopter, the AW139, which has an automatic de-icer on the propeller blades. There are six base stations (Calgary, Edmonton, Grand Prairie, Regina, Saskatoon and Winnipeg) which operate 24-7; calendars are available until February but will only be in Viterra offices until Dec. 11. While purchasing a calendar is ultimately a donation, Canada Revenue Agency does not consider it charitable because you receive something for your money. To give to STARS and receive a tax receipt, cash only donations must be made; you may do this online (stars.ca) or through the bulk mailing received in Rivers last week.
