Finding a valuable new home for yesterday's materials...
Media
31/07/2008
What should a large company do with its now defunct branded materials when a new brand has been rolled out? Throw it all away? Drop it in landfill? Take it home? How about doing something worthwhile with it?
When Mace Group rebranded at the beginning of the 2008 the company was left with lots of "old brand" merchandise including pens, pencils, mugs, fleeces and drawstring bags. Instead of throwing it all away the company put the question out to staff to see if they had any suggestions of how we could re-use them. One of the company's HR team came up with a fantastic idea, why not donate them to a charity helping out in the wake of the Asian tsunami.
Sri Lankan Ark, originally founded in 1997, is a charity which is providing aid and support in the wake of the 2004 disaster and its work concentrates around the parish of Halpe and Katana in Sri Lanka, which is where the majority of the items were passed on to many of the local villagers. Since the tsunami, the area covered by the work of the Sri Lankan Ark has extended immensely and reaches all the way down to the southernmost tip of the island, which was the area worst hit. They provide ongoing aid to rebuild schools, medical centres and homes to those suffering the after-effects of that devastating day. The hilly area of Nuwara Eliya benefited from the fleeces, where members of a local convent were given them to help with the chilly nights and cold winter season.
Ark spokesperson Ursual Krebs said: "We were absolutely taken aback by the generous donations received from Mace. Seeing everyone smiling whilst receiving the gifts is the greatest reward one can hope for! On behalf of the Sri-Lankan-Ark team in Germany and the catholic parish of Halpe/Katana in Sri Lanka, I would like to thank you for thinking of us."
