CARRIE KELLY
The Pipeline
ConocoPhillips Canada has been recognized for its volunteer and philanthropic efforts.
The company was one of six in Alberta to be honoured for workplace volunteerism, financial support and in-kind donations. The corporate volunteer awards of excellence were established by the government of Alberta and the Wild Rose Foundation.

ConocoPhillips was nominated for the award by the Calgary Women’s Immigrant Association and a number of other associations wrote letters of support for the nomination.
So many of ConocoPhillips staff make the time to volunteer, said Barb Simic, manager of community investment for the company.
“What makes these programs successful is the staff who take the time to volunteer,” she said. “We do more than write cheques. We proactively go out and look for programs we can help.”
Staff put in more than 18,000 volunteer hours last year. Gifts in kind totalled $187,000 and ConocoPhillips partnered with 843 agencies.
“We take our commitment to volunteerism very seriously,” Simic said.
ConocoPhillips has a program that provides $500 to a charity where a staff member has donated at least 40-hours of their time.
The company has three main pillars it supports — education (50 per cent of contributions), the environment and safety.
Over the past year ConocoPhillips staff have worked on a Habitat for Humanity home in Grande Prairie, beautified city parks and even painted a home for a senior.
Last Christmas, 22 staff members organized a hamper program that the whole company participated in. They raised $30,000 in merchandise and $30,000 in cash for four groups — the Sunshine Shelter, Calgary Women’s Emergency Shelter, Connaught School in Calgary and Sherwood Community School.
For many of the organizations, ConocoPhillips and its staff provide an ongoing commitment — not just a one time effort during the holiday season. More than 100 staff spent 1,500 hours at Connaught School volunteering their time in areas such as the reading program. And Conoco staff are working on a project where women staying at the Sunshine Shelter will be given movie certificates to go see a show while staff do crafts and activities with their children.
ConocoPhillips takes the time to recognize its staff for their volunteer efforts. For certain programs, staff are able to volunteer during work hours.
“We believe in a well balanced lifestyle,” Simic said. “We have a commitment to strengthen community.”
Staff often receive ConocoPhillips merchandise gift certificates and the company also has a program called volunteer recognition in a box, which features fun surprises for staff.
The company has even piloted a program to help other companies get on the volunteer bandwagon.
“We work very closely with Volunteer Calgary. We piloted a program called Workplace Volunteerism. For the past two years ConocoPhillips has funded that program and we are actively using the program now,” said Simic.
ConocoPhillips received the Wildrose Foundation 2008 corporate volunteer award in the large business category.

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