ST. CATHARINES, January 17th, 2012 – Ontario Environment Minister, Hon James J. Bradley, will review local efforts to encourage the use of rain barrels. Bradley will see beverage barrels, previously used to transport Coca-Cola’s concentrate, which have been modified by RainBarrel.ca for use by private homeowners. In the spring, the barrels will be sold to the public by Garden City Optimists, a local St. Catharines-based service group, as a fundraiser for the organization.

Minister Bradley will be meeting with representatives of Coca-Cola Canada, RainBarrel.ca, and Garden City Optimists at 11:30 am, Tuesday, January 17th at First Grantham United Church in St. Catharines.

Rain barrels capture and store rain water collected from roofs through downspouts. They provide a clean water source which is free of chlorine and fluoride, and is ideal for flowers, vegetables, lawns, shrubs and trees. By reducing the draw on public water sources and diverting clean water from sewer systems, they reduce costs involved in water management for both local governments and individual homeowners.

According to the Environment Ministry, storm water management is critical for preventing pollution from entering our streams, rivers and lakes. The site recommends homeowners “use a rain barrel to gather water for gardens and lawns. This takes the strain off our storm drainage systems.”

Coca-Cola Canada Sustainability Director Dave Moran says “Water is the primary ingredient in our beverages and we recognize our responsibility to protect this precious resource and making a positive difference in our local communities. Converting our concentrate barrels into rainwater harvesting containers is an important step in our ongoing efforts towards water conservation.”

RainBarrel.ca reclaims food grade barrels previously used to import fruits and vegetables, or in this case, concentrate, to be reused as rain barrels. The company partners with local non-profit organizations to run fundraising truckload sales events for many communities in Ontario. Last year RainBarrel.ca worked with more 100 nonprofit partners, resulting in $17,000 in net proceeds for a wide variety of Ontario charities.

Garden City Optimists, based in St. Catharines, is already scheduled for their sale on Saturday, April 14, 2012, and the proceeds will support their many projects throughout the community. All orders must be placed online in advance at www.RainBarrel.ca/GardenCity or by calling 905-545-5577.

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About Garden City Optimists – The Garden City Optimist Club (GCOC) was founded in 2007 and is located in St. Catharines, ON. The Garden City Optimist is a group of phenomenal women who are interested and dedicated to helping youth and community projects within St. Catharines. For more information contact Lynne Twocock at 905-935-5724

About RainBarrel.ca – RainBarrel.ca reclaims food grade barrels previously used to import fruits and vegetables to be reused as rain barrels. Partnerships with non-profit organizations result in fundraising truckload sales events for communities across Ontario including Alliston, Barrie, Blenheim, Belleville, Curve Lake, Haldimand County, Hamilton, Jarvis, London, Manotick (Ottawa), Mississauga, Newcastle, Niagara Falls, Norfolk County, North Bay, Norwood, Orillia, Oshawa, Ottawa, Pembroke, Russell, Simcoe, St. Thomas, Stoney Creek, Sudbury, Tara, Thunder Bay, Toronto and Winona. More communities are being added each week. RainBarrel.ca retails a variety of garden centre items from its Stoney Creek facility. For more information, please contact Larry Pomerantz, Larry@RainBarrel.ca, call 905-545-5577 or visit www.RainBarrel.ca.

About Coca-Cola Canada – Coca-Cola Canada operates in all ten provinces, employing 6,300 people in more than 50 facilities, including seven production facilities, across Canada. We offer a wide variety of non-alcoholic brands; these beverages include sparkling soft drinks, still waters, juices and fruit beverages, sports drinks, energy drinks, coffees and ready-to-drink teas. We’re proud to offer some of the most popular brands in Canada including Coca-Cola®, Diet Coke®, Coke Zero®, Sprite®, Fanta®, Nestea®, PowerAde®, Minute Maid®, Dasani® and vitaminwater®. Coca-Cola in Canada is represented by Coca-Cola Refreshments Canada and Coca-Cola Ltd. Dave Moran: 4164246127, damoran@coca-cola.com
About the Ministry of Environment – Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment (MOE) has been protecting Ontario’s environment for over 30 years. Using stringent regulations, targeted enforcement and a variety of innovative programs and initiatives, the ministry continues to address environmental issues that have local, regional and/or global effects. The Ministry of the Environment is responsible for protecting clean and safe air, land and water to ensure healthy communities, ecological protection and sustainable development for present and future generations of Ontarians.

[Presentation of rain barrels will be held 11:30 AM Tuesday, January 17, 2012 at First Grantham United Church (next to Ina Grafton Home for the Aged) 415 Linwell Road, St. Catharines, Ontario L2M 2P3]

Congratulations! – By receiving and reviewing this information, you are taking the first step towards raising new funds for your school. Rain barrels are proving to be very popular (we’ve sold over 23,000 with our non-profit partners), especially with homeowners who want to save money by reducing water bills. Rain barrels can be expensive; selling for $80 to $300 plus tax through local retail outlets. RainBarrel.ca fundraising initiatives significantly reduce the cost of rain barrels while raising funds for your school. You will love this part; there is no need to buy anything upfront and no need to maintain inventory. If you can talk, email, distribute flyers that RainBarrel.ca provides for free and communicate the rain barrel sale opportunity within your school community in other ways then your school is guaranteed to earn a minimum of $10 per rain barrel. Approximately 300 rain barrels fit on a truck and at a profit of $10 each you will earn $3000, however a $15 or $20 profit margin would earn up to $6000.

How does the RainBarrel.ca fundraising program work?
 Our school partners begin by selecting a sale date, location and price to set a guaranteed profit margin per rain barrel sold. We provide tips on making the best decisions to maximize the profit earned by your school.
 RainBarrel.ca creates a unique webpage for your school that explains why you are raising funds and that illustrates the products and prices related to your sale. Homeowners can place their orders online directly through the webpage. RainBarrel.ca accepts prepaid debit or credit card orders and cash orders to be paid once the rain barrels arrive. Phone orders are also acceptable.
 Our school partners begin promoting the sale at school and in the local community. RainBarrel.ca’s how-to manual provides an extensive list of free promotional activities that have helped dozens of partners succeed in reaching their fundraising goals. We provide sample press releases, advertising templates and flyers that promote a monthly free rain barrel draw to direct customers to your rain barrel sale.
 RainBarrel.ca provides weekly sales reports so you can track the success of your promotional efforts. We provide a detailed site plan and description of volunteer positions required to ensure a safe and efficient rain barrel sale event occurs. Just ahead of your truckload rain barrel sale, we provide detailed customer lists, sorted alphabetically to ensure a well-organized distribution event takes place.
 RainBarrel.ca guarantees you will have 100% of your profit in hand within one week or less of the conclusion of your sale. Like many of our partners, your organization may want to discuss hosting a second profitable truckload rain barrel sale during the same season. Our truckload rain barrel sales work well as stand-alone fundraising events or can be easily added to your current fundraising events to benefit from the additional exposure.

What are the next steps?

Complete the online Partnership Request Form at www.RainBarrel.ca/partnership to sign up today or call us at 905-545-5577 to receive additional information. Join the many schools who have partnered with RainBarrel.ca to raise money for their important work. School references available.

RainBarrel.ca is pleased to have had the opportunity to bring rain barrels in to Ottawa during the spring and summer watering ban. Thank you for supporting our local non-profit partners with your purchase!

Our $55 rain barrels ($5 after rebate) are available for sale this weekend, just in time for Father’s Day. Upcoming rain barrel sale details are available through the following link.

Gatineau also has a rain barrel rebate program in place as detailed through the following link. Order here.

RainBarrel.ca continues to seek non-profit partners to host truckload rain barrel sales. Our partners earn $10 per rain barrel sold. Please forward this information to any non-profits in need of a quick, simple and profitable fundraiser.

I don’t have my barrel raised on a platform (note to self: do it next time it is empty) so I was worried about pressure. Also, my hose is extremely long and I was concerned about the water getting through it all. When I opened the spigot and removed the hose kinks, I was surprised at the flow of soft rain water!

I filled up a watering can and set the hose down beside my new baby fig tree. While the hose watered the tree, I went to work on the new plants that were looking thirsty.

It took me about 30 minutes to get everything I wanted watered. And the rain barrel was left half full. I was “exercising” with all that bending over and reaching. And my garden is happy. All in all, a satisfying experience.

I help sell thousands of barrels each year but have only owned mine for a year so far. The first couple of times I used it, I left the spigot open and drained the whole thing! It wasn’t so bad when it was at a new shrub that needed care but I sure felt silly when it drained itself right beside itself!!

It’s obviously a learning process and I’m soon able to consider myself leaving the neophyte stage.

Take a chance on a rain barrel – good for you, good for your plants – and your garden will be happy!

Rain barrels will sell for $55 each at the new sale events. More locations will be available on other dates.

We have been assured that these barrels meet City of Ottawa rebate criteria. City notification of rain barrel subsidy and requirements is here.

Tell your contacts about RainBarrel.ca sale locations all over Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba as listed on our Truckload Sales Page.