What does 20 minutes cost? One less break? Skipping one sitcom on TV? But what can 20 minutes bring? To those participating in the 20-Minute-Makeover, those 20 minutes can have an incredible impact on the world around us.
In London, we’ve supported this event since it was brought to The Forest City six years ago. The concept is dazzling in its simplicity: companies around the city allow their employees to head outside at 2 p.m., arm them with garbage bags and gloves, and encourage them to clean up the area around their workplace for 20 minutes.
Amway Canada is on a major street, so the front of our building is subject to debris blowing off the road. And let’s not forget the fact that spring thaw has revealed all those hidden cups, wrappers, and other items that people have convenient left behind. It makes a difference. And the more companies you have working together, the more of a difference you can make.
More than the immediate results, the event helps you focus on the simple things we can do to promote our environment. Really, how hard is it to hold on to that losing Roll Up the Rim cup for a few minutes until you get to a trash can or recycling bin? That empty bag of chips isn’t going to self-destruct, so leave it in the car until you get home. And how much of that wrapped snack food is actually healthy? Maybe it’s time to swap the chocolate bar for an apple: better for the environment and better for you.
Now, what if that 20 minutes was stretched out to a few hours? The impact is exponentially increased. As part of London Clean & Green, Saturday marks Community Cleanup Day. Starting at 9 a.m., Londoners from all walks of life gather together to return some of the green back to The Forest City.
From parkland to residential neighbourhoods, citizens – supported by the City of London and local businesses – band together to undo the damage that we’ve done. Amway Canada’s been a part of this organization since its inception 16 years ago and, unfortunately, we foresee a long and happy partnership for the future.
I say unfortunately, because it’s sad that we even need to have events like this. It’s incredible to see the amount of garbage people just toss into their local parks, forests, and green areas. And the worst part is the motivation behind the behaviour.
I’d almost prefer that this was caused by willful and malicious destruction of our parklands. At least then you could understand the justification (not agree with, but at least understand.) Instead, we’re left with two less-than-flattering explanations: apathy and laziness. As I said above, how hard is it to hold onto your trash until you get home? Or to one of the many garbage cans dotting public parks and streets? It just seems that people don’t care – and that apathy is the hardest thing to fight.
I encourage you to learn more about Clean & Green! And if you feel motivated to start your own event, then more power to you! It would be great if you could contact your local municipal representatives, co-ordinate some businesses, and get people motivated!
Of course, it would be equally great if you simply stopped tossing trash out of your car windows, or dropping your cups while out for a walk. Combine that with maybe picking up the odd piece of trash you see on the ground and depositing it where it belongs, and we all can have an incredible impact on our community. Big or small, every action makes a difference.
Your thoughts? Comments are open! And we’ll keep you posted on our efforts both at the Amway Canada Facebook page and on our Twitter feed!
Hello all. As you know, it’s been an enviro-filled fun fest at Canuck Central the past few days. On Friday, I posted an update about the past weekend’s London Clean & Green event, of which Amway Global Canada is a long-time supporter. Today, we participated in our 20-minute makeover, wherein we join other local companies in cleaning up the grounds around our building. You can view photos of that here on Amway Global Canada's Twitpic site.
But now I’d like to take you back, oh, 40 years or so. Because on Apr. 22nd we’re celebrating the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.
Earth Day means different things to different people. At the very least, it’s a day to reflect upon the impact our individual actions have on the environment. This isn’t a day about politics, lobbying, or debate – it’s about seeing what results a small effort can bring. If we multiply one day’s efforts over 365 days, then multiply that over however many people commit to making a change, then we have a chance to exponentially increase the quality of life for us, our children, and for generations into the future.
Of course, that’s been a defining belief of this company since its inception. We were green before green was cool. With the development of such environmentally friendly products like L.O.C.® Liquid Organic Cleaner and SA8®, with its biodegradable surfactants, to DISH DROPS® and its phosphate-free performance, we’ve been leading the way in developing planet-friendly products for over 50 years
From the concentration of our products to forward-thinking packaging that minimizes its environmental footprint, we’ve been leading the way in terms of innovation for four decades. Now that everyone’s jumped on the green bandwagon, we’re still leading the way with premium products, value pricing, and superlative performance.
But we can talk until we’re blue (or green) in the face about our products. We’re more interested in hearing what you have to say about them. Feel free to post how you use our products in the comments section, or send an e-mail to tellkate@amwayglobal.com to share your thoughts. Hey, you can even tell us what you do with the packaging – what creative ideas do you have to reduce, reuse, and recycle our products?
Oh, and who’s Kate? Well, she’s our resident cleaning maven. And in the near future you’re going to be hearing more from her in terms of tips, advice, and ideas on maximizing your cleaning prowess while minimizing your impact on the environment. Share your ideas with Kate and she’ll pass them on to IBOs and customers alike!
So what are you up to this weekend? In London, several members of the community will be getting together to make sure that you can actually see the green in the Forest City.
This weekend, as we approach Earth Day, marks the start of London Clean & Green Day and the Thames River Clean-Up (yes, for our foreign friends, we live in London and the Thames River runs through the city — not terribly original, I know, but we did switch the order of River Thames!).
Amway Canada has long supported this event as part of our continuing efforts to help people live better lives. We have a number of environmental programs in place on site and, on Monday, we'll be participating in the 20-Minute-Makeover. Sure, that's supposed to be today, but logistically it didn't work out for us. So, instead, we'll be doing a Makeover Monday, wherein all employees at Canuck Central will head out on the grounds to pick up any trash that may have blown over (fortunately/unfortunately, Tim and his crew do a bang-up job and when I walked out there earlier to take some 'before' photos, the grounds are close to immaculate. Maybe some non-winning Tim Hortons cups will blow onto the grounds!)
I took the opportunity to head downtown to meet up with Joe Kool's/Jim Bob Ray's manager Ron Scarfone and his crew as they prepared to kick off the event. You can check out some of the photos on the Amway Global Canada flikr page (I'd put them here, but, well, I'm a bit of a techno-monkey when it comes to posting pics!!!)
I'll update you on Monday with more details about the event and photos from the activities at Amway Canada. Just a few minutes out of your day can make such a difference. And if you've ever been tired of seeing trash on the road, this is your chance to do something about it (safely, of course… a food bar wrapper on the street is better than the mess you'd make getting schmucked by a truck…)
Thanks to Ron and his crew for taking such an active role in this event. We're proud to do our part for our home town and we invite all of you to come visit London and see all the greenery and splendour of the Forest City… unobstructed by trash!