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I have always dreamed of being a super hero, walk through Montreal’s darkest streets to save people from truands, drive the Betty mobile (An improved version of my car Betty), wear a super cool costume and have a super power or two. While I am still working on achieving this dream, I do feel like a super hero when I take a few minutes to show someone somebody cares about their stories, to help out people in need and when I offer guidance to the younger generation… And last week I found out about a new way to be a super hero while at the AVEDA press conference on April 22nd with Ray Civello, president and director of Aveda Canada, and Margaret Trudeau, President of honor of WaterAid Canada.
I found out we can offer water access to a person for her whole life with $25.00, yes her WHOLE LIFE. They both spoke about their experiences in India and Africa where water pumps were installed and the importance of educating people so they can maintain the structure through its lifetime. Ray Civello shared touching memories of people showing their gratitude and offering their best food and sodas, which they generally save for special occasions only. I can only imagine how humbled you feel when you witness such gratitude for things we are blessed to effortlessly have access to in Montreal. The press conference was followed by a 6km march for potable water access in 15 Canadian cities including Montreal. This distance symbolizes the daily distance women walk to bring water home. It kicked off at 8:30 am at the Aveda Art de Vivre Concept on St-Laurent boulevard. The objective: raise $600,000.00 in 2015. Last year Aveda Canada raised $520,000.00 and approximately $6.2M since 2006 which helped improve the life of 50,000 people in Africa, mostly children, which is pretty impressive and inspiring. April being earth month showcased other initiatives such as Light The Way candles and t-shirts, $15 limited edition candles with proceeds going entirely to Global Greengrants Fund, a non profit organization which helps other environment oriented organizations around the world. This initiative was launched in 2006 and helped raise $9M to help shed the light on a better future for kids ever since.
What brought these two organizations to collaborate together? AVEDA Canada, in parallel to hair, body and makeup beauty products making, fully commit their core values to environmental responsibility. In fact, their products are made entirely using aeolian energy. They were pioneers in the beauty industry. The company also received a Cradle To Cradle title for their durability orientation for products and bagging. Their engagement since 1999 raised $32M to support environmental projects around the world. AVEDA‘s values were a perfect fit with WaterAid’s mission, which is to help the less fortunate have access to potable water and support durable development projects in relation with hygiene and water. WaterAid has been operating as a non profit organization since 1981 touching 21M people’s lives.
Photos courtesy of National Public Relations