Guest Blogger – Cathy Snyder, CFO, United Way of KW and Area

A Colourful Fall Reminder to Think Green!

Hi, Cathy Snyder here. While my official title at United Way of KW and Area is CFO, I’m also pleased to be spearheading the organization’s environmental initiatives.

There’s no denying it, fall is here. The air is cooler, evenings are darker and the trees are beginning to look a little barren.

While the fall leaves shift from green to shades of red, yellow and brown, we at United Way of KW and Area continue shifting to green. "Going Green" is not just a program to us at United Way - it's a commitment. We’re committed to the sustainable, long-term success not only of our community, but of the environment as well. We believe the two go hand in hand.

So what are we doing? Here’s a quick run down of our “Go Green” initiatives to date:

• regularly evaluating operations to ensure they’re as efficient as possible
• thinking before we print to minimize paper waste
• where possible, producing and distributing documents in electronic format
• shredding documents internally and delivering shredded paper to the KW Humane Society to provide bedding for the animals (I've provided some pics below)
• using environmentally friendly products when possible, including biodegradeable pens
• when printing materials is necessary, using vegetable-based inks on 100% post-consumer recycled paper
• participating in and attending as many local green initiatives and seminars as possible
• joining Sustainable Waterloo, a local not-for-profit that guides organizations in Waterloo Region towards a more environmentally sustainable future. Our CEO, Jan Varner, is a board member of this organization, and I'm on the Events Committee.

Not only do these initiatives help reduce our carbon footprint, we believe that in the long run it is more cost effective to be green. And lower costs mean that more of the funds we raise can be invested into the community we serve. In other words, by going green we can all be Community Heroes.

You can learn more about our “Go Green” environmental commitment on our web site.

Here are the children of two of our employees delivering bags of shredded paper to the KW Humane Society for use as animal bedding: