Community Initiatives

Our employees also play a major role in selecting and determining the projects we invest in through our community engagement program. Many of our employees volunteer their time as Inter Pipeline Ambassadors at sponsored events. 

Overview

Inter Pipeline (iCare) Fund

We support organizations with basic social needs of food, shelter and wellness.

Our Inter Pipeline Cares (iCare) fund focuses on charitable organizations, Indigenous communities and specific programs that support the basic societal needs of food, shelter and wellness for communities, especially the vulnerable or underserved in our Canadian operating areas. Our engagement also seeks to cultivate stronger connections between our company, our employees and communities by participating in volunteer opportunities. The initiatives and charities supported through iCare see us make significant multi-year commitments generally in the areas of community infrastructure enhancement. 

Our Community Investment Committees comprised of employees and management from departments and field offices across our Canadian operations, evaluate and fund the iCare initiatives.

To support and build constructive, lasting relationships, we encourage employees to volunteer for a program, event or charity that is meaningful to them and that is happening in and around the communities where they live. Throughout the year there are many ways to engage in Indigenous and community events in our operating areas, many of which are also supported by Inter Pipeline’s iCare funding.

APPLE Schools

A Project Promoting healthy Living for Everyone in schools, also known as APPLE Schools, is an innovative school‐focused health promotion initiative. The program improves the lives of more than 33,000 students annually in 100 schools across Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, and the Northwest Territories by improving healthy eating, physical activity and mental health habits. The APPLE Schools program has been established in many vulnerable schools throughout our northern operating areas in Alberta, providing services for Northern and Central Albertan communities.

Making an impact to transform eating habits in schools, communities and for families is a long-term project – one that takes a solid commitment from donors to see this journey through. Inter Pipeline has supported APPLE Schools since 2015 and is proud to continue the relationship to strengthen and improve the health and well-being of these northern school communities. 

The Alex Community Food Centre 

The Alex Community Food Centre is a partnership with the Alex and Community Food Centres of Canada and is Alberta’s first Community Food Centre. Through the power of good food, the Alex Community Food Centre effectively tackles issues of hunger, poor health and social isolation – issues that affect too many Calgarians. Impactful and multidimensional programs offered under one roof support our community to learn healthy food skills, improve physical and mental health, and become more empowered and engaged citizens. 

Inter Pipeline has proudly supported the Alex Community Food Centre since it began operating in 2016 through funding and hundreds of employee volunteer hours. Many low-income Calgarians struggle to meet their basic needs and the Community Food Centre provides a place where they can receive a healthy meal in a communal setting, take home food from an affordable market or participate in a class such as the “make and take” meal program. Inter Pipeline is proud to commit its support to helping those experiencing food insecurity in Calgary.

Inn from the Cold 

Inn from the Cold is an organization borne from a concern for the significant number of families that face homelessness in Calgary. What started out as a small shelter program has grown to become Alberta’s largest family homeless-serving agency, providing assistance to thousands of children and their families each year. For more than 25 years, the Inn’s mission has been to provide emergency shelter, support and programs to homeless children, their families and others in need, with the goal of building healthy, stable families and ending homelessness. In 2019, the Inn provided nearly 25,000 nights of shelter, served nearly 75,000 nutritious meals and served over 1,100 family members.

Inter Pipeline has been a proud supporter of the Inn from the Cold since 2008. Our employees volunteer regularly at the Inn, helping to serve evening meals. Corporately, Inter Pipeline supports various initiatives at the Inn, most notably providing funding to operate their kitchen facilities, provide monthly dinners and groceries and help renovate Journey House 2, which provides families with clean, safe apartments for their use during the transitionary period between shelter and rebuilding their lives. 

Kids Kottage

Kids Kottage is a crisis prevention and early prevention services organization that keeps infants and children safe and families strong, supporting the most vulnerable in the Edmonton region. When a family is under toxic levels of stress from job loss, homelessness, the effects of poverty, mental or physical health issues or abuse, the children are hidden victims, and Kids Kottage is there to help. Since opening its doors 25 years ago, Kids Kottage has provided safe refuge for over 27,000 infants and children and has helped over 14,000 caregivers. It is home to the first and only crisis prevention centre in Edmonton, which provides emergency childcare to families in need. The past 25 years of partnering with loyal supporters and donors have enabled Kids Kottage to prevent families from falling further into crisis.  

Since 2018, Inter Pipeline’s iCare program has proudly directed funds to organizations like Kids Kottage that provide the basic societal needs of food, shelter and wellness for the vulnerable or under-served, including support of the 24-hour crisis line and building renovations to improve Kids Kottage’s services for families in need. 

Missing Children Society of Canada 

The Missing Children Society of Canada (MCSC) has unique and comprehensive programs that have assisted police and families in active and ongoing searches for missing children, hoping to bring answers and safely return missing children. There were more than 42,000 children reported missing in Canada in 2018 and in nearly all of those cases, police reached out to MCSC for help to bring those children home. 

Inter Pipeline’s support since 2017 has most notably been for the MCSC Child Search Network, a Canadian-made tool developed in consultation with and tested by police services. It provides police services with a quick, easy and cost-effective way to share information and collaborate with one another, as well as with the general public, to find missing children quicker and reunite them with their families. MCSC has also developed the Indigenous Resource Network, an interactive technology platform capable of delivering real-time support and information to vulnerable youth and at-risk adults directly from police and NGOs. Inter Pipeline’s funding further assists MCSC to develop a flexible program and kit with Tsuut’ina Nation Police that can be used to provide this support to other Indigenous communities across Canada.

The Robb Nash Project 

The Robb Nash Project is an immersive concert experience that engages young people through the power of music and storytelling. The Project’s engaging presentations address topics related to mental health, including depression, anxiety, self-harm, addiction, bullying and suicidal ideation, striving to help normalize the importance of seeking help from appropriate professionals when needed. The Project’s shows are hosted in performing arts theatres and arenas from coast to coast and organized with participating schools and communities. 

Since 2018, Inter Pipeline has proudly supported the Robb Nash Project through volunteer hours and funding to help the charity share their message of hope and empowerment at no cost to schools. We have directly supported the Project’s Super Shows in Killam, Red Deer and Calgary and we look forward to helping them reach more communities within our operating areas.

Stepping Stones Crisis Society

Since 2017, Inter Pipeline has supported the Stepping Stones Crisis Society, formerly the Dr. Margaret Savage Crisis Centre, a not-for-profit organization that provides safe and secure shelter as well as support to women and children who are in crisis within Cold Lake, Bonnyville and surrounding areas. Stepping Stones focuses on educating the public and creating partnerships to prevent family violence and build a stronger community. Inter Pipeline is proud to support various Stepping Stones programs, including Community Kitchens, Healthy Babies and the Bonnyville Community Support Outreach Program. 

Through programs like the Community Kitchens, individuals and families receive the resources and skills to cook on a budget, prepare healthy meals and ensure affordable lunches are packed for their children to take to school. Low‐income and at‐risk, pregnant women are supported through the Healthy Babies Program, providing resources and supplies that they would otherwise not receive, including milk, fruit, vegetables, vitamins, nutritional counselling and support with lifestyle changes. The Stepping Stones Bonnyville Community Support Outreach Program focuses on violence prevention, public education and assisting those who do not require Stepping Stones’ in‐house services in Cold Lake.

Construction is currently underway on the new Stepping Stones Crisis Society facility in Cold Lake. They are constructing a 50,000 square foot four-story building that can accommodate double the number of clients they currently serve. This facility will consolidate all their programs into a single, more functional and accessible building. The facility will be designed with shared spaces such as a childcare area, community kitchens, pet housing, a salon and an in-house school for children unable to turn to their regular school due to distance or safety concerns. More details about this project can be found on their website.

West Central Crisis & Family Support Centre

The West Central Crisis & Family Support Centre has been serving West Central Saskatchewan residents since 1984 and has helped more than 22,000 people from its local communities. The Centre’s goal is to empower clients to take responsibility for their lives and to create workable solutions for individual or family problems. As the only crisis and family support centre in the mid-Saskatchewan area, the Centre provides valuable services for individuals and families in need, including in-person crisis intervention, counselling and mental health support. 

For individuals looking for support from domestic violence, the Centre houses individuals or families in hotels in 8-hour rotations for 48 hours to determine a plan for relocation or safety planning to re-enter their home. For youth, the Centre works directly with them to develop a plan for finding places to temporarily stay until they can return home or relocate to a shelter nationally. Inter Pipeline has been proud to be a supporter of the Centre since 2017 and continues to fund the growth and expansion of the Centre to provide much needed resources to the local communities.

Women Building Futures (WBF)

Women Building Futures (WBF) is a non-profit organization with the mission of empowering women’s economic prosperity by removing barriers and providing industry recognized training in the construction trades, maintenance, transportation industries and more. Empowering women to pursue careers in industrial trades was the objective of a partnership built between Inter Pipeline and WBF. In late 2019, Inter Pipeline announced its investment to support WBF in raising awareness and providing pre-apprenticeship training to women in Alberta’s Heartland area. This training is offered through WBF’s Journeywoman Start program, a 17-week classroom and hands-on pre-apprenticeship training program that introduces students to six different industrial trades. 

As women are generally underrepresented in construction and operations in our industry, this partnership is a great opportunity to assist women to enter the trades and unlock rewarding careers. It also aligns with Inter Pipeline’s commitment to diversity and inclusivity.

Hear from several graduates talking about the difference the program and the opportunity is making for them by watching this WBF video.

Discovery Awards

We provide support to youth pursuing post-secondary education through our Discovery Awards Program.

Inter Pipeline is committed to supporting youth development and education in the communities where we operate. Our Discovery Awards Program provides bursaries to high school students who require financial support to pursue a post-secondary education in an industry-related field. The fields include the following or any other field associated with Inter Pipeline’s business: Accounting, Automated Systems Engineering Technology, Business and Finance, Engineering and Engineering Technology, Industrial Instrumentation Technology, Instrument Mechanic, Investor Relations, Machinist, Millwright and Welder Apprenticeships, Process Operations and Public and Community Relations. 

To put forth a student for the Discovery Awards bursaries, the high school or Indigenous community nominates a student that has been consistent academically, has contributed to his or her school or community and who the counsellor or principal determines has financial need. First year recipients may apply for an additional award for their second year of post-secondary education. In 2023, fifty-three bursaries were awarded to students located within the communities where we live and work.