Unpacking A Year Inside The Box – A Look Back At 2022
While 2022 showed us an everchanging economy and a sign of changing times, this passing year also boasted a refreshed sense of energy and a return to a new normal. With events making their way back into existence, restrictions easing, full-time employment gradually surpassing pre-Covid-19 levels, and a renewed sense of flexibility for work arrangements, 2022 was a comeback year for many.
Year-after-year, our community never ceases to amaze us with a sense of generosity and willingness to come together for a greater good that not even a pandemic could sway. We are endlessly impressed by the ingenuity and grit we see from local businesses and not-for-profits, and we feel a huge sense of pride that we get to call some of them our clients, partners, friends, and family.
Looking back on 2022, here are some of the initiatives, events, and organizations that we were lucky enough to work with:
Cram The Can
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Did you know that a 20’ shipping container can hold over 10,000 lbs. worth of food donations? With a critical need to address food insecurity now more than ever, sponsors like Secure-Rite, Bell Media, iHeartRadio, BC Turkey Farmers, and Save-On-Foods worked together to ensure that the Cram the Can event elevates the impact that the Central Okanagan Food Bank has on the community. For every $1 that is donated, the Central Okanagan Food Bank can provide $3 worth of food! When the community puts their hands and hearts together, we can ensure that those in need are fed hope and nourishment.
Get involved with the Central Okanagan Food Bank.
An Escape Room Take-Off
Focusing on the Leaps by Bayer initiative, which aims at “conquering ten huge challenges facing humanity”, Immersive Tech conceived and executed an all-in-one experience in the form of a customized 40’ shipping container escape room. Divided into 4 rooms, with 3 being for gameplay, the container doubles as storage while helping transport an additional 13’ foot video wall, showcasing brand content and player leaderboards. Players interact with a blend of tactile, digital and technology-driven puzzles in their efforts to save the world in less than 20 minutes.
The Structures Team at Secure-Rite set up this customized 40' Leaps By Bayer unit with four Bison container lifting legs (a hydraulic jack system), so that the quest to engage future scientists can continue journeying all over North America, on different trucks, without ever needing the help of a crane!
The Animal Food Bank
The no-barrier Animal Food Bank has supported pet owners from the North Okanagan to the South for three years. They have been busier than ever; so much so, that since 2021, their requests have increased by 50%! In 2022 alone, they have provided 40,000 meals to cats and 34,000 meals to dogs. With the amount of pet food and supply donations coming in, we feel it’s our duty to give the gift of a 20’ storage unit so they can keep their inventory organized and secure!
Fill the Van For Sally Ann
Secure-Rite is a proud annual sponsor of the Fill The Van For Sally Ann event, made possible through the Salvation Army, Save On Foods, and Royal LePage. The Salvation Army strives to help people in need with varying aspects of life; anything from food assistance, children’s programs, clothing and basic essential items, and more. We are committed to lending a hand in the fight to end hunger, and we are so proud that this initiative yielded over $40,000 in donations, and 12,010 lbs. of food in one day!
Get involved with the Salvation Army.
United Way Child Safety Initiative
Did you know that over 150,000 children live in poverty in BC, and around one in five do not have access to an appropriate car seat? No family should have to put their child’s safety at risk because of limited finances. The United Way Child Safety Initiative provides new car seats to families in need, and we are happy to donate shipping containers to the United Way each year to store these seats before they are sent off for delivery! Thanks to partners and sponsors like the Paul Docksteader Foundation, Kelowna General Hospital Foundation, Two Small Men with Big Hearts Moving, Kootenay Savings, Vernon Canadian Tire, and the Central Okanagan Foundation, more than $55,000 was raised to deliver 520 child car seats across the Okanagan and Kootenays this year!
Grillin’ For Good
In an effort to spread awareness, build up and delight our community with a delicious meal on a sunny day, the Secure-Rite Family had a blast Grillin’ For Good at the Central Okanagan Food Bank Community BBQ this summer! With the help of other sponsors like K96.3 and Foothills Creamery, we served up 120 burgers to our awesome neighbours!
Best of Kelowna
Small businesses are the heartbeat of the Okanagan, and we feel it’s important to promote and highlight local favourites from all industries through KelownaNow’s Best of Kelowna each year. The community gets a chance to cast their votes every spring for their favourite burger joint, autobody shop, dentist, and more, and this year the community yielded over 55,000 nominations!
See all Best of Kelowna 2022 Winners.
Red Bull Joyride
This summer, Secure-Rite had the pleasure of gaming with Red Bull! This exciting 10' vinyl-wrapped (thanks to Vinyl Labs) high cube kiosk stood proudly at the Red Bull Joyride and Crankworx World Tour event in downtown Whistler. The event at Whistler Bike Park's legendary Bone Yard is revered for its electric atmosphere and love for mountain biking by slopestylers and spectators alike.
Kelowna Santas
For the past 10 years, Kelowna Santas has helped spread the festive cheer to families across the Okanagan by providing gifts and toys to those who need a little extra help during the holiday season. In partnership with KelownaNow, Kelowna Toyota, Total Restoration, Ideon Packaging, Kelowna Calligraphers’ Guild, and TD Bank, we helped gather gift donations and deliver joy to over 400 families and 1,000 kids in communities across the Okanagan this year!
Every year, we feel incredibly grateful for the love shown by our communities, the opportunities we get to work with so many innovative and inspiring organizations and businesses, and the tireless efforts of our staff, suppliers, vendors, and partners, and this year is no different.
From the entire Secure-Rite family, we wish you health, wellness, prosperity, and love in 2023 and beyond!