January 2010

MPI’s ECOS Project Helps the Interfaith Food Bank Feed Hungry Calgarian’s This Christmas

 

On December 16th, 17th & 18th our local MPI chapter teamed up with AVW TELAV to help the Calgary Interfaith Food Bank keep its shelves stocked during this overburdened time of year when resource shortages are common. Over the three days we were able to bring in over 20,000 lbs of food!  MPI volunteers coordinated the effort in conjunction with the Calgary Interfaith Food Bank to get our volunteers and AVW TELAV staff teams out into the community to pick up food donations from pre‐determined locations.  AVW TELAV as a partner in the initiative donated funding, fuel, trucks and drivers to assist with the project.

 

This initiative is part of MPI’s commitment to social responsibility through their ECOS project.  ECOS, which stands for Events for Communities of Sustainability, is an initiative championed by the International MPI Foundation to encourage local chapters and members to support stronger global communities through sustainable community projects by committing to a community service project that focuses on providing the basic necessities of food, water, shelter and education in their local area.

 

What is ECOS?

“Ecos” is from the ancient Greek word ekos, meaning “home” or “earth”, and we use it today in words such as “economy” or “ecology”, evoking the triple bottom line of people, planet and profit. ECOS is a framework to support sustainability in the communities where our members live and where we do business, and is a guide to help us focus specifically on building elements which have a direct relationship to the meetings and events industry. It will focus on one these significant areas: food, water, shelter and education.

 

Four Areas: Food, Water, Shelter and Education

The meetings and events industry deals with the basics of life. Food, water and shelter are essential

elements of this industry. Moving one step up from those basics, the ECOS project also focuses on education, since education is the building block of sustainable communities.  

 

UN Global Compact

ECOS supports our commitment to the UN Global Compact by creating a social responsibility program and mandate for our organization globally. The four areas of food, water, shelter and education support the United Nations Millennium Development goals of ending poverty and hunger and supporting universal education.