Corporate Citizenship

Volunteer recognition

Every year our Consultants and employees contribute thousands of hours of their own time volunteering for local causes.

Here at Investors Group, we recognize the value and importance of volunteering in all its forms. This is why we have created community support programs to recognize these individuals and in-turn provide much-needed funding to many charitable organizations across Canada.

Volunteer Support Program

Our Volunteer Support Program encourages Consultants, employees, retirees and their immediate families to volunteer and make a difference in their community by providing donations to charities that are close to their heart.

Recent recipient

Gord Pye, an Executive Consultant in our Bedford, Nova Scotia office, recently received $1,500 from the program to help in his continued efforts with the Nova Scotia chapter of the Canadian Paraplegic Association. Gord has worked on the Board of Directors of the association for the past eight years and has recently completed a two-year commitment as the board Chairperson.

“Our work helps assist persons with spinal cord injuries and other physical disabilities to achieve independence, self-reliance and full community participation,” says Gord. “The association needs funds from companies like ours because there are so many people who need help and we have such limited funds to provide that help.”

The Canadian Paraplegic Association of Nova Scotia offers a wide range of services in the areas of prevention, education, rehabilitation, advocacy, equipment, information and research. Gord helps the association by volunteering his time to help organize events like the Investors Group Golf Tournament, the proceeds of which all go towards assisting persons with spinal cord injuries. Between the tournament and other donations, the association receives approximately $20,000 per year from Investors Group.

“I volunteer because it’s my way of giving something back to the community,” said Gord. “I believe it’s important that every one of us who can should volunteer, even if it’s two hours helping out at the local food bank. Time is just as important as money, and the feeling you will get and the people you will meet makes volunteering so worthwhile.”

President's Lifetime Achievement Award

The President's Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes employees who have made a long-term personal commitment to community service and demonstrate exceptional service to their community. This award is presented annually along with a $10,000 donation to the recipient’s charity of choice.

Our latest recipient – Murray Kilfoyle

April, 2011

Murray Kilfoyle, Senior Vice-President, Finance received the 2011 Investors Group President's Lifetime Volunteer Achievement Award for his decades long commitment to volunteering.

Murray’s commitment to the community is diverse, ranging from involvement with Tourism Winnipeg and the Winnipeg Arts Advisory Committee, to establishing girls’ sports programs as the long-time President and Treasurer of the Waverley Heights Community Centre, to improving healthcare as a Board member of the Parkinson Society of Manitoba and St. Boniface General Hospital. Murray was also a founding member of Investors Group’s Employees in Action Steering Committee.

This impressive range of volunteer activities is a testament to Murray’s skills and expertise.

Waverley Heights Community Centre

As the long-time President and Treasurer of the Waverley Heights Community Centre, Murray oversaw the construction of a new facility and established girls’ baseball and ringette programs.

“Like many others, my first significant volunteer roles were with a local community centre as a result of the recreational needs of my two daughters and what the community viewed as a lack of girls’ sports programs,” said Murray. “This resulted in many years of rewarding involvement with the Waverley Heights Community Center and the establishment of what became very active girls’ sports programs. It was a great way to start giving back to the community.”

United Way of Winnipeg and St. Boniface General Hospital

Murray has been actively involved with the United Way of Winnipeg for a number of years. He has been a member of the United Way Major Donors Cabinet and a volunteer Account Executive.

Murray has also been a dedicated volunteer with St. Boniface General Hospital since 2003. He has served in a leadership capacity on the hospital’s Board since 2005 and has served as Vice-Chair of the Board since 2008, in addition to sitting on a number of committees.

“Healthcare is an area that attracts my interest due to its complexity,” said Murray. “The hospital is a place where miracles are delivered everyday. Many people work very hard under challenging circumstances to deliver on the Grey Nuns’ mission of hope and healing. I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to making that mission a reality.”

Murray’s experience at the hospital and other organizations has taught him that everyone has something to contribute when it comes to volunteering.

“You do not have to be a great fundraiser or Mother Teresa to make a difference. Everyone can make a valuable contribution by transferring their work skills to any number of volunteer positions,” he said. “I have always learned a great deal from all of my volunteer opportunities. Volunteering is really a two-way street for exchanging knowledge and experience.”

Past recipients

Year	Recipient
2010	Debbie O’Bray
2009	Colleen Deckert
2008	Neil Taylor
2007	Don MacDonald

Employee Volunteer Award

The Investors Group Employee Volunteer Award recognizes the selfless volunteer efforts of our employees. This award is presented quarterly along with a $1,000 donation to the recipient’s charity of choice.

Our latest recipient – Kim O’Grady

December 2011

Kim, Communications Specialist in Corporate Communications, has volunteered with a diverse group of organizations that include Canadian Humanitarian, Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba, and Infertility Awareness Association of Canada.

“Volunteering is important because it connects you to your community,” said Kim. “It helps you think beyond yourself and look up from your own life into the wide world. Inevitably when you volunteer, you meet someone who has endured more than you, fought hard and won a new life or made a huge difference. Those people are humbling and are the best teachers.”

Kim is now also a dedicated volunteer with Canadian Humanitarian., a non-profit organization that grew out of the adoption agency she and her husband used when adopting their daughter from Ethiopia. Canadian Humanitarian partners with local individuals and organizations in Ethiopia to break the cycle of poverty. The organization provides access to health care, education, vocational training, and the basic necessities of life such as nutrition and shelter. Kim has served as a board member of the Winnipeg Chapter since 2010 and sponsors a teenage boy in Ethiopia.

Kim has directed the $1,000 corporate donation that comes with the award to Canadian Humanitarian.

Past recipients

Year	Quarter	Recipient
2011	3^rd	Gail Purcell
	2^nd	Pat Myron
	1^st	Michèle Bouchard
2010	4^th	Aaron Margolis
	3^rd	BJ Reid
	2^nd	Brad Kirk
	1^st	Keith Potter
2009	4^th	Nicole Wadelius
	3^rd	Larry Wozney
	2^nd	Michael Klatt
	1^st	Paulette Rocan
2008	4^th	Julie Labossiere
	3^rd	Teresa Rydberg
	2^nd	Colleen Deckert
	1^st	Dorothée Umuhoza
2007	4^th	Debbie O'Bray
	3^rd	Neil Taylor
	2^nd	Auréle Courcelles
	1^st	Jessey Camara¹
2006	4^th	Khang Pham¹
	3^rd	Ginny Thiessen
	2^nd	Catherine Gilchrist
	1^st	Don MacDonald