A Playful 20th Anniversary

Five cities across the country unveiled new playgrounds on Apr. 24 to the cheers of children and their communities.

Aon Reed Stenhouse, a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm, built playgrounds as part of an initiative to celebrate its 20th anniversary.

Aon undertook this initiative to buck the trend of celebrating anniversaries in one central location. The company said it felt it should share its 20th year in business with the communities that it works with every day. The firm therefore donated much-needed recreational space for children in Halifax, NS, Sherbrooke, PQ, Thunder Bay, ON, Grande Prairie, AB, and Victoria, BC.

“The events of April 24th certainly showed the strength of our ties to the communities we serve,” Aon Reed Stenhouse president and CEO Chris Fawcus said in a statement. “Although we are a global company, each individual office has unique qualities that match the character of the individual cities.”

The company organized community parties to help launch the playgrounds, featuring barbecues, face paintings, costumes — and most importantly, laughter and smiles from everyone involved.

Clients, underwriters and local officials all attended, which, the company says, was of special significance to Aon. “As well as thanking communities, the company wanted to thank the people who helped make the last 20 years so successful – its clients and partners,” the company said in a statement.

Fawcus noted Aon is “proud” to be part of the fabric of Canada and intended to make a lasting contribution that families would enjoy. “All 26 of our offices have longstanding partnerships with the cities they serve,” he said. “Building these playgrounds is a great way for us to say thank you for being so great with us.”

Aon funded the playgrounds, which were built by PlayPower Inc. in cooperation with the local municipalities.

Building the playgrounds was one many ways Aon celebrated its anniversary across the globe. Aon has 500 offices in more than 120 countries. “There were plenty of opportunities to give back,” the company noted in a statement. “And since each office got to choose which charity it wanted to support, Aon employees across the globe were truly motivated by passion and commitment to their causes.”

Many offices, such as those in Bolivia, Denmark, Malaysia, Russia, Scotland and the United States, chose to support children’s charities. Others were motivated by events in their parts of the world. The Aon office in Indonesia, for example, chose to support the Red Cross through blood donations.

Environmental issues were also on the minds of Aon offices, with many countries focusing on sustainability and environmental research.

“Each event was distinct, but all of them shared a similar spirit,” the company noted. “Being a good corporate citizen is incredibly important, and is something to which Aon has made a strong commitment.

“But what really matters to individuals, children and families is that Aon acts as a good neighbour.”