Make your community shine

Sponsored Content - Feb 03, 2025 - Think Local

Photo: Co-op
The Willband Creek Park Viewing Platform in Abbotsford.

Otter Co-op is always prepared to make communities more beautiful—in more ways than one.

For starters, you can get your car washed at a ridiculously low price for two more days. The Premium Car Wash Sale wraps up on Wednesday. More on that later.

More importantly, the company is now accepting applications for the Co-op Community Spaces program, which commits $1 million to Western Canadian locations where people can unite and thrive. The initiative aims to beautify and improve community spaces that facilitate recreation, environmental conservation and urban agriculture.

Eligible projects can receive capital funding ranging from $25,000 to $150,000. One previous winner in the environmental conservation category was Willband Creek Park Viewing Platform in Abbotsford.

The program invites applications from registered charities, non-profit organizations and community service co-operatives. Eligible projects must be accessible to the public, align with one of the specified funding categories and be completed within two years.

The application window is open until March 3 at 3 p.m., and any questions about the application process can be answered by emailing [email protected]. You can also view a sample application here.

This is one of many ways Co-op gives back to the community. In 2023, for example, the company donated $50,000 to Julia’s Junction in West Kelowna. It is the first purpose-built, 100% fully inclusive and accessible playground in West Kelowna that is designed to benefit children of all ages, including and especially those with physical, social or emotional disabilities.

Co-op also takes sustainability seriously, as it is actively engaged in various initiatives across Western Canada. That includes joining the Canadian Plastics Pact to address plastic waste and introducing products like Co-op Gold Pure Cleaning Pods and compostable coffee pods to reduce packaging. The Loop Program, which repurposes unused food for livestock, has been adopted by 30 Co-op associations in more than 60 communities.

Commitments extend to responsible sourcing, highlighted by Co-op’s focus on sustainable seafood and fair trade certified coffee from Peru and Nicaragua, aiming to support local economies and environmental practices. If that wasn’t enough, Co-op is reducing carbon emissions, aspiring to a 40% reduction from 2015 levels by 2030 and targeting net-zero by 2050.

Those are the macro goals from Otter Co-op and its parent company, but they also have micro ambitions as well. Those include getting your car to sparkle and making sure you are ready for the big game this Sunday.

The Premium Car Wash Sale allows you to get the works at any of the three Thompson-Okanagan Otter Co-op car washes for just $3.99. You can get your ride looking fine at 1436 Fairview Rd. in Penticton, at 7750 Dallas Dr. in Kamloops and at 2150 Rutland Rd. in Kelowna. The sale concludes at the end of business on Wednesday.

And as always, Otter Co-op is the place to get everything you need for Sunday’s championship football tilt. The options are always vast at the numerous Otter Co-op locations throughout the Okanagan, but Monster Energy 473ml cans for $6 and two Co-op Gold Potato Chips bags for $5 are a pair of deals you will not want to miss.

This article is written by or on behalf of the sponsoring client and does not necessarily reflect the views of Okanagan Edge.


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