Success Story - In Communities
Athabasca Celebrates 98
Our community just had a party to celebrate Athabasca's 98th birthday on our Town Common. We all stood in the shape of a "98" and our local photographer Stacy Swanson went up in a bucket truck and took a portrait of us. There were about 300 people there. Afterward we had hot dogs, dispensed drinks and birthday cookies in the shapes of numbers 9 and 8.
The reason for the birthday cookies was because cake with sticky icing might have been a little too messy for we asked everyone to bring their own cups, plates and disposable napkins. Those who didn't used some we had borrowed from our local Native Friendship Centre's new and used shop, sanitized in a local restaurant's sanitizer and had available for use.
Just about 300 people attended the event, but when it was all over, there was only two pieces of hot dog on the grass, which the crows promptly removed. The only garbage in the cans was wiener wrappers, a couple of pieces of paper and a few coffee grounds (we didn't use paper filters). We recycled the plastic bun bags, returned the borrowed juice, water dispensers, coffee pots and reusable containers the cookies came in, and people took home the cups, plates and napkins they brought. Some people really liked some of the cups and plates that were available from the new and used store and purchased them on site, but the rest we rewashed and returned to the new and used shop.
It cost us far less to put on the event since we didn't have to pay for or deal with disposables. Dispensed drinks are not only cheaper per serving than drinks in juice boxes, but have less sugar per serving so are healthier for our children. The Native Friendship Centre made a little money through the purchases of cups and plates that were purchased rather than returned and no one minded using the sanitized cups, plates and napkins, (but the hand sanitizer was well used!)
Everyone was a winner.
