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RONA Vancouver - 2010 Fabrication Shop
Olympic Partners Take Social Responsibility to New Levels
The Olympic Charter begins with the six “Fundamental Principles of Olympism”, one of which states: “The goal of Olympism is to place sport at the service of the harmonious development of man.”
Working with this goal in mind, the 2010 Winter Games organizing partners are determined to make the Games be the most sustainable ever — not just environmentally, but socially as well.
The RONA Vancouver 2010 Fabrication Shop is one example of the sustainable social initiatives created by the Games. In partnership with VANOC, RONA, a national chain of home and building supplies in Canada, has offered a 30-week carpentry skills and work experience program designed for people who have had difficulty entering the workforce.
The program equipped each of the program’s 64 students with tools for life—program trainees received carpentry skills, training, and job experience. Trainees were recruited from Aboriginal peoples, inner-city residents, youth at risk, women at risk and new immigrants.
An impressive 8,000 individual items have been built by the Fabrication Shop students; all of which will be used and showcased at the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Items include podiums, wheelchair ramps, sports racks, signage, warming huts, commentator positions and fencing.
One of the project participants, Daniel Zapton, says it has been an experience he will never forget, and that seeing his hard work in the spotlight during the Games will remind him of the great experiences, skills and friends he has made during the program.
The Fabrication Shop is a RONA/VANOC collaboration. Various organizations sponsored different groups of about 16 participants to go through the carpentry training program.
As part of the initiative, the Government of Canada’s Homelessness Partnering Strategy (HPS) provided funding to support.
A group of at-risk Aboriginal people, sponsored by ACCESS — a non-profit organization that provides employment training and life skills to urban Aboriginal people — and a group of at-risk young women, sponsored by YWCA Vancouver, received HPS funding to provide housing-related supports to participants, to ensure they were stably housed for the duration of their training.
The HPS works to address common risk factors that may lead to homelessness.
The HPS has received a "Sustainability Star" from VANOC for this project. The Sustainability Star was designed to draw attention to Games-related sustainability innovations.
“I think this (housing funding) was an important part of the program. The retention rate is quite high for this population – the housing support has a huge role to play in that, because of its flexibility, like day care, because they couldn’t attend a program like this without it, and the transportation,” says Carolyn Neilson, YMCA manager.
The Government of Canada’s Skills Link program also provided financial support to some of the participants. One of three programs under the Youth Employment Strategy, helps youth facing barriers to employment gain the skills and experience they need to enter the labour market or return to school.
By the time the 2010 Games open in February, 64 individuals will have successfully graduated from the RONA Fabrication Shop collaboration. Sixty-four people’s lives will have been changed for the better by this program. Seeing that their hard work set the stage for legends to be made and records to be broken is something that these individuals will never forget. The skills learned will help carry them through their careers, and more importantly, through their lives.
“I am proud to have been part of this experience and being able to help out. It feels good that my work is representing Vancouver and my country,” said Wesley Tetreault, a graduate of the program.
In keeping with the commitment to sustainability in all forms, all of the products produced at the RONA Fabrication Shop for temporary use at the Games will be removed and reused, donated or recycled after the Olympics.
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada’s mission is to build a stronger and more competitive Canada, to support Canadians in making choices that help them live productive and rewarding lives, and to improve Canadians’ quality of life.