30th Anniversary

Last year, Toombs reached a major 2020 milestone celebrating 30 years of providing Career Management Services. Throughout this time we have had the privilege to collaborate with compassionate, smart and dedicated Human Resources professionals, while working with talented clients to gain traction with their career.

Since starting our first office in Calgary in 1990, and opening in Edmonton in 1992, we have seen significant growth, are solidly established in our local communities, and are actively serving clients around the world through our Arbora Global Partners network. We are proud of our longevity in the industry and are celebrating every month in 2020 by working with a community partner to serve their needs.

All year we have been celebrating our Toombs 30th anniversary in business in Alberta by supporting local charities in both Edmonton and Calgary. This involvement allowed us to show appreciation while making a positive impact, and we feel lucky to have been able to give back to our communities in this way.

As we leave this year behind and roll into the next one, we hope the New Year brings you good health and prosperity, as well as successful and fulfilling careers and lives you desire and deserve.

Thank you for partnering with Toombs and allowing us to support you. The following is a list of community organizations we supported as our way of saying thank you to the communities we live and work in as our anniversary recognition.

January: Big Rock Runners

In honour of our 30 year milestone, we partnered with the Big Rock Runners of Okotoks and donated technical running watches for the 30 runners in the Okotoks Track and Cross Country youth running club. The club targets local youth, ages 12-17, who want to improve their running skills for school athletics, fitness, and to lead a healthier life. Our president, Mark Toombs, is an avid runner and volunteer coach, and was a co-founder of the club in his hometown in 2017.

February: George Spady Society

As we celebrate the second month of our 30th Anniversary, we are supporting the George Spady Centre Society in Edmonton by donating 30+ essential items of clothing for men and women in need. The Society is recognized as a leader in the development and delivery of effective services for the care, treatment, and support of individuals with substance-related disorders and dual diagnoses. Our team at Toombs recognizes their hard work in addressing these issues and helping individuals with complex life circumstances.

March: CUPS Calgary

In March, we are supporting CUPS, a non-profit organization that uses the science of brain development to help build resilient lives for Calgarians facing the challenges of poverty and trauma. They offer a multitude of integrated programs and services that meet complex needs of low-income individuals and families, such as counselling, addiction treatment, early learning, support for children and caregivers, housing, financial support, activities and emotional support for adults and families.

Our team recognizes the importance of early developmental support and the significance of strong bonds between parents and their little ones. In celebration of the 3rd month of our 30th Anniversary, and World Book Day March 5, we are donating 30 children’s books to CUPS Nurturing Parents program. We’re hoping these tools will help shape positive outcomes for younger generations.

One of our long time team members, Steve Morris and his wife Barb have been volunteering at CUPS every Thursday for the last 15 months, serving coffee, Barb’s homemade baked goods, and socializing with the clients. This is a long-term commitment as Steve says they are booked in their calendars until 2050. We are pleased to add to this support of CUPS!

April: Edmonton’s Food Bank

In April, we are supporting Edmonton’s Food Bank in their mission to create a community where no one goes hungry, by sponsoring hampers for four families of four. Providing support and food to those in need is a challenge at the best of times, but with COVID-19, this task only got harder. Securing resources to support our food banks is extremely important, now more than ever, as they’re trying to meet the increased need and deal with the pressure put on them by this unprecedented change.

Despite the need for social distancing and self-isolation in the past few weeks, we still have to remember that we’re in this together and that we can make a difference, even from a distance.

May: Brown Bagging for Calgary’s Kids

Every winter the Toombs team in Calgary wakes up at the crack of dawn, pulls on our boots and toques, and drives through quiet streets to congregate at the Brown Bagging for Calgary’s Kids kitchen. As soon as we walk into the immaculate kitchen where other volunteers are completing their shifts, the upbeat staff welcomes us and directs us to our stations. We’re inspired and ready to work.

Why? Because of what we do for several hours on a cold dark winter morning, thousands of school-aged kids will receive a satisfying lunch. For some of them, it might be their only meal of the day. For over 30 years, BB4CK has made sure that “every kid in every school in Calgary has the lunch they need to flourish.” Our contribution, small in time but big in our hearts, has an impact on the kids as we prepare and bag sandwiches and snacks for them, on the community of volunteers and staff who makes it happen day after day, and on the City some of us call home.

For the month of May, Toombs has chosen BB4CK as our community organization to help celebrate our 30th anniversary. Also celebrating their 30th anniversary of providing lunches to Calgary’s kids, it is an even better reason to support the good work they do!

Due to COVID-19, the kitchen is closed and their traditional model of making lunches has been replaced with emergency-response direct funding to continue providing lunches to kids and families directly impacted by Alberta school closures. We are happy to provide financial support through grocery gift cards. It warms us to know we can help support in another small way, to help BB4CK continue its vital contribution to our community.

June: Operation Friendship Seniors Society

In June, we’re continuing our 30th anniversary monthly donations by supporting Operation Friendship Seniors Society in their mission to provide community-based preventative social services to the seniors of Edmonton’s inner city. We are sponsoring breakfast for 120 seniors, hoping our modest donation will help take some pressure off everyday challenges our seniors are facing.

It makes us happy to know that we can provide help and make a difference in the struggling community, especially in these uncertain times.

To further help with their cause, we will also be taking part in their Bottle Drive by donating bottles that our team has collected! To help raise money for their Drop In Centre, you are also invited to donate any bottles if you can. If not – please spread the word! For more information and to schedule a pickup, you can contact Jimmy, Community Relations Supervisor, at 780.408.2958, or via email at jimmym@ofss.org.

July: Energy for All

Our 30th celebration continues! For the month of July we are contributing to Energy For All, an organization that provides access to clean water and energy to communities that do not have clean drinking water. Our Calgary General Manager, Roselyn, has volunteered with Energy For All for the past 6 years, and has seen firsthand what a difference a glass of clean drinking water can make. The donation from Toombs will be put toward 30 water quality tests in homes in Alberta on First Nations Reserves. For more information click here.

Energy For All has partnered with local charity Altalma Foundation for all of their projects in Canada.

August: Boyle Street Community Services

To celebrate our 30th anniversary, this month we are supporting Boyle Street Community Services, an organization whose mission is to build and provide community supports for vulnerable populations who face multiple barriers to inclusion. They welcome and serve people of all ages, backgrounds, and orientations, working hard towards creating a more accepting and inclusive environment for everyone. They have taught us that even a small gesture can have a great impact on another’s life, and to help them, we will be sponsoring meals for 300 community members.

September: Boys and Girls Club of Calgary

As part of our celebration of working with companies for 30 years, Toombs has chosen to support the Boys and Girls Club of Calgary for the month of September. They provide much needed support for programs for kids. Their annual fundraising gala, Splash of Red, is pivotal to their programming and the donations are used to support vulnerable youth and families. This year a partner has very generously offered to match all donations that come in for the Splash it Forward initiative. We are very happy to contribute to such a worthy cause. We encourage you to check out their website here.

October: Inclusion Alberta

This month, we’re celebrating our 30 th anniversary by supporting Inclusion Alberta, an amazing organization that advocates on behalf of children and adults with developmental disabilities and their families. Their mission is to foster family leadership and advocacy in the pursuit of fully inclusive community lives for children and adults with developmental disabilities.

Inclusion Alberta assists families and individuals with developmental disabilities in securing services they need to live an inclusive life, providing education, employment, recreation, and financial support.

Due to COVID-19 public health emergency, their annual fundraising event, Changing Lives, Changing Communities, was this year moved to a different platform, and over 600 people joined virtually to show support for this worthy cause. During this event, we were able to hear from families whose lives have been enhanced through this organization’s hard work, and their stories really gave us a better perspective on the reality they experience, as well as the importance of providing community support to them.

We feel incredibly fortunate that we have been able to donate to this great organization and we are pleased to support their cause!

If you’d like to support this organization in their goal to create a more inclusive community, you can donate here.

November: Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary

For the month of November, we are supporting the Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary. As a critical resource, the AFCC provides Indigenous programs for the growing population of urban Indigenous people in the downtown community. Their programs include language classes, housing services, elder-led parenting programs, and prayer groups. At Toombs Inc. we are so pleased to align our contribution for the month of November to supply food hampers for 30 children through the Aboriginal Friendship Centre.

We encourage you to check out their website here.

December: Zebra Child Protection Centre

As the year comes to an end, we look back on the challenges it has brought to us, but also on the positivity we’ve been lucky enough to share through our 30 th Anniversary celebration.

We feel happy and privileged to have had the opportunity to support some amazing organizations in Edmonton and Calgary, including George Spady Society, CUPS Calgary, Edmonton’s Food Bank, Brown Bagging for Calgary’s Kids, Operation Friendship Seniors Society, Energy for All, Boyle Street Community Services, Boys and Girls Club of Calgary, Inclusion Alberta, and Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary.

In the last month of 2020, we are supporting Zebra Child Protection Centre, an organization providing safe space for children who have faced child abuse. Their multidisciplinary team of partners provide support to children in every step of their challenging journey, from navigating the daunting criminal justice system to starting their healing process.

The Zebra Centre is a place where children’s resiliency is seen and heard every day. It’s a place where every child is believed, and bravery is celebrated. If you can, join us in supporting them in their vision to create a community where every child is heard and respected and child abuse is not tolerated.

Year Wrap: Food Banks in Calgary and Edmonton

End of the year is usually a time when we would be holding our annual Toombs Movie Event. We were hoping this year would be no exception and were looking forward to getting together with our colleagues and customers to say goodbye to 2020 and welcome 2021. This was to be our 17th annual event, and even though we sadly had to cancel it this year, we are still counting on continuing that tradition next year.

Because of these new circumstances, we have decided to donate to the Food Banks in Calgary and Edmonton, to assist them in these most challenging of times. These organizations have been of great importance in helping the most vulnerable members of our communities get through this difficult time, and as the winter gets colder and colder, ensuring everyone has access to an adequate and nutritious supply of food becomes even more critical.