Volunteer Central’s Good Business of the Month: Cosmos Group

Volunteer Central

Published

5 years ago

3 minute read

Written by Ryan Charles Parker // Photo: Cosmos Group

Sometimes, waste isn’t waste. Just because we are finished with an item, it does not mean that our having exhausted it for ourselves renders it useless. No one knows this better than Cosmos.

Cosmos is an organization that does many helpful things with what we would sometimes consider trash. To this end, just to start, Cosmos runs three bottle depots: two in Red Deer and one in Blackfalds.

The amount of money that these bottle depots raise is quite astonishing. In 2019, Cosmos raised $594,702.35 for local charities.

That is a large chunk of cash, but Cosmos strives to become even more lucrative. As Trinesh Padiyachi, General Manager of the three depots run by the organization told me, (we want to) “become the number one in Alberta for recycling.”

Another initiative that the organization has taken up is bottle drives. Bottle drives generate revenue for many local charities, including, but very much not limited to, youth sports.

But Cosmos’ programs extend beyond collecting and recycling bottles. Their Recycling Infrastructure Program used blue bins to raise over $11,000 that was used to support non-profit organizations in Red Deer.

Cosmos does more than just recycle. They use their resources to teach everyday life skills for those who need them. They run courses to help establish skills and to help their clients with personal development. These courses include topics such as: anxiety, budgeting, communication, and so many more.

It was in this spirit that Cosmos opened the Karma Cafe in 2018. According to Cosmos’ website, the goal of the cafe is to “create a meaningful business that could provide individuals the opportunity to learn valuable employability skills within the Food Service Industry.”

The contribution to our community that Cosmos provides cannot fully fit into the space allowed in this article. They convert something as humble as empty bottles and use those bottles to generate thousands of dollars that is given back to organizations that truly need it. That is no small task.

And just as they help organizations, they help people. They offer courses for everyday life skills, which can be very difficult to develop. And not only do they teach these abilities in theory, they operate institutions that help put these skills into practice.

We are collectively grateful for their work, which has earned them the award of Good Business of the Month from Volunteer Central. And they’ve earned it.

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Do you know a local business practicing corporate social responsibility? We’d love to hear about them! Email us at [email protected].

Volunteer Central

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Volunteer Central strives to build a strong, connected and engaged community through volunteerism.

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Penhold Flight Instructor Releases Updated Instruction Manual For the 21st Century

Published on December 24, 2020

Tim Lasiuta

Sky Wings Aviation founder Dennis Cooper lives to fly.

“2020 marks 50 years of flying for me,” said Cooper in a phone interview. “I was a cadet and part of the glider program but got my pilots license in 1971 at Cold Lake before I even had my drivers license.”

Cooper later earned his Commercial license under Cecil Sorenson and other seasoned ex-Canadian Air Force pilots who transferred their tremendous knowledge base. Working with Johnson Air Services and Pultz Aviation, he obtained his instrument rating and began his pilot career in earnest.

“One of the tools I had as a young pilot was the Pultz Instructor Manual and sometimes he (Pultz) would ask me questions and I would offer input,” he remembered. “The original book was a 3-ring binder and we used that format for a long time at Sky Wings as well.”

Fast forward to the present.

“With current technology, many of our students wanted the manual in an electronic form so now instead of just having a softcover book that gets scuffed, dirty and ripped we now have a hardcover AND an electronic version for use everywhere,” added the instructor. “Since the original book was written, much had changed.”

Changes to the original include an index which the first book did not have according to Cooper, modified levels of instructors, GPS information which did not exist years ago, procedures and general knowledge brought about by technology.

“We kept the artwork from the original,” said Cooper. “It’s great and captures what we wanted. We also added enhanced study and review questions based on feedback from students who have been through testing. The result is now a 558 page Instructors Manual that can follow a pilot from the beginning of their career to their end goal, no matter what that looks like.”

The new updated manual can be used in conjunction with Transport Canada publications. It can adequately prepare a commercial pilot for the Transport Canada Flight Instructor written examination, the in-flight training and ground instruction, as well as the test flight.

Priced at $99 for the hardcover and $90 for the softcover, the “Cooper Flight Instructor Manual” is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Chapters/Indigo and 3 flight suppliers at present.

“I bought Sky Wings Aviation in 1982 and even today I still feel the same when a new student flies for the first time. I am excited when our students enter the plane, travel the runway and rise into the air for the first time for their first circuit, then return,” said Cooper whose wife Sherry also teaches at the school. “I enjoy watching the transfer of knowledge from instructor to student, but most significantly, watching them conquer the air just like the Wright Brothers 118 years ago.”

Cooper is not finished yet with 3 more books ready to rewrite for the 21^st century.

For more information on Sky Wings Aviation and the 9^th Edition of the Cooper Flight Instructors Manual, go to:

Home – Skywings Aviation

#ReDiscoverRedDeer

Foundation for Red Deer Public Schools picks up $30,000.00 tab to buy laptops for at-home schooling

Published on December 12, 2020

Red Deer Public Schools

Photo includes, from left, Foundation Board Member Morris Flewwelling, Trustee and Foundation Board Member Bev Manning and Foundation Board Chair Dave Tilstra.

Foundation donates 90 Chromebooks to students in need

As equity, student success and completion are priorities for Red Deer Public Schools, officials have recognized the move to at-home or temporary online learning has presented challenges for some students and their families who do not have access to technology.

In response to this challenge, the Foundation for Red Deer Public Schools, recently donated 90 Chromebooks to schools to lend to students needing access to technology, totally $30,000.

Dave Tilstra, Chair of the Foundation for Red Deer Public Schools, said supporting students and ensuring they have the tools to learn is key to helping set kids up for success.

“Chromebooks will continue to be an important resource within schools and now at home. We are thrilled that we have been able to donate this much needed technology to students who would otherwise go without to ensure they have the best opportunities to continue learning,” he said.

Families who borrow a Chromebook from their child’s school are responsible for ensuring they have Wi-Fi connectivity and they will ‘sign out’ the devices and assume responsibility for their proper use and return.

“Equity is about fairness. The Foundation supports projects that help give kids life chances,” said Bruce Buruma, Executive Director for the Foundation for Red Deer Public Schools. “Families experience challenges during the best of times, but the past number of months have been tough for many. We know this donation will help ease one burden so students can focus on learning and families can focus on other priorities.”

The Foundation supports projects that align with the Division priorities of Literacy and Numeracy, Equity and Student Success and Completion.

For more information, please contact: