AREVA is people, and people are community. AREVA Resources Canada, on its own and in partnership with the AREVA Foundation, worked with a variety of non-profit organizations in the past year to make our communities safer, healthier and more vibrant.

In the past ten years, the number of patients with kidney disease at St. Paul’s Hospital in Saskatoon has grown by 151%. The disease is a particular concern in northern Saskatchewan: Aboriginal people experience a relatively high incidence of diabetes, which is linked to kidney disease. To find solutions and provide state-of-the-art clinical care, St. Paul’s established the Centre of Excellence for Nephrology. The AREVA Foundation, based in Paris, lent its support by contributing $450,000; AREVA Resources Canada added to this to bring the total gift to $750,000. The money was used to establish the AREVA Foundation Telehealth and Community Outreach Programs, which improve screening, diagnosis and tracking outcomes, especially in remote communities.

La Loche volunteer firefighters Ken Roth and Derek Herman get ready to load the Jaws of Life. AREVA donated this equipment, used primarily to open doors in accident vehicles. “Before, the nearest Jaws of Life was two hours away,” notes Morris Onyskevitch, AREVA’s former Manager of Northern Affairs. “If someone is pinned in a vehicle, that’s not good.”

Emerging Saskatchewan visual artists, representing different cultures and areas of the province, came together in a special exhibit sponsored by AREVA Resources. The grand opening attracted one of the largest turnouts ever for a new exhibit at the Mendel Art Gallery in Saskatoon. Later, AREVA employees were invited to a private viewing with some of the artists.

August 14, 2008: a day of kite flying, boat floating and ice-cream eating at River Landing in Saskatoon! AREVA and the Meewasin Valley Authority celebrated AREVA’s sponsorship of the new waterplay feature. It portrays the Saskatchewan River Water Basin, and has been designed to let children control the flow of water and learn about Saskatchewan geography while having fun.

Last year, AREVA Resources had more than 300 positions to fill in Saskatchewan. Competition for talent was stiff. To help increase our brand appeal to potential recruits, we ventured into the virtual world of the 330 million people who use the Internet to upload and watch videos, and interact online. The 18-30 year-olds of Facebook and YouTube soon responded.

The result was the creation of an experience – a dialogue – that transcended traditional media marketing to engage our audience. In 2008, 25 videos from across Canada related to ‘saving the planet’ were submitted online. Within a few months, they had received over 50,000 views and are still being watched today!

Saving the planet one video at a time – that was the mantra of our Save the Planet Video Contest. Participants across Canada submitted videos with original ideas to solve the world’s increasing energy demands, ranging from thought-provoking documentaries to off-the-wall spoofs. Ever heard of Doctor Environment? Nuclear Power Man? Watch these characters in action at www.savetheplanetcontest.ca.