Businesses Building Hope

It's heartening when businesses think of 'litter control' as a volunteer opportunity and as a means to contribute to the good of the community. Businesses can play a big role in modeling ecological citizenship to others!

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Mission's Royal Bank chose to participate in a clean-up of Railway Ave. and the West Coast Express station area as a part of their bank's National Community Week (June 22-26) agenda. Two by two, bank employees all took turns tidying up neighbouring areas, collecting bags of litter and properly disposing of it. Adopt-A-Block's colorful vests, pickers and blue bags were proudly used in this successful community contribution. Imagine spending an hour of your work day volunteering, getting outside, contributing to the health and well-being of the community, being a role model in environmental action... Can anyone say, team building and employee moral booster?

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Adopt-A-Block is pleased to recognize Starbucks (Mission Junction) as the Society's first formally registered volunteer 'business' in litter control. In June 2009, the Starbucks team adopted the heavily littered route of London Ave., the main access road that takes all traffic coming and going from the Junction. This street is not only a hotpsot due to its location to 'food on the go' retailers and its function as a joining street between the main highway, commercial areas and the industrial area nearby; but Lane Creek, a sensitvie salmon habitat runs in the same neighbourhood. All litter tossed into the ditches along this street ends up in this sensitve waterway to some degree at some point. The Starbucks team engages in litter clean up of this significant litter route once a month. Every contribution helps! Now just think of the implications if each business in the Junction followed suit and joined this litter collection action!

This litter is headed for one destination and one destination only, the sensitive salmon habitat of Lane Creek! What's wrong with this picture? (Picture: Ditch along London Ave. 2007) Thanks to volunteers like the Starbucks team cleaning up messes like this - you are making a difference!