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- Happy Thanksgiving from Stertil-Koni!
- Stertil-Koni Runners Lift Their Performance in Year 2 of 10K Across the Bay
- Welcome Matt Murray!
- Spanning the Globe
- More Stertil-Koni Distributors Roll Big with 2015 National Lift Week
- National Lift Week: Get Ready to Soar!
- Lifting a Fork in a Healthy Direction
- In Memory of Clancy Cornell
- Winning on the Gridiron and in the World of Lifts
- Hats off to Southwest Airlines!
- From the Moon to the Triple Crown
- Lifting Hearts and Vehicles
- Westvac Gives Back to Children of Nicaragua
- SK Hometown Has Storied History of Transportation
- Stertil-Koni Celebrates Record Year in Style
- Stertil-Koni Supports Bailey’s Café in the “Lifting” Process
- “Koni” Dog Is Champion Jumper
- SK’s “Chief Photography Officer”
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- Vac-Con Joins Stertil-Koni at the Work Truck Show
- From the Race Track to the Shop Floor
- From Stertil-Koni to the Nation’s Library
- Laughs, Lifts, and Learning at Leno’s
- From Ace Designer to Pro Driver
- Stertil-Koni Arrives at the World of Concrete Show!
- Stertil ALM Launches Major Factory Expansion
- DIAMOND LIFT Shines in Georgia
Westvac Gives Back to Children of Nicaragua
06/16/2015
In April, children in the Nicaraguan villages of Tortuga and Collado squealed as they slid down new slides and clambered over monkey bars. A group of volunteers from Canada had just installed their new playgrounds.
New Playground in Nicaragua
Among those volunteers was Gary Vermeulen of Alberta-based Westvac, a leading Stertil-Koni distributor.
Gary’s wife Charlotte had previously helped install playgrounds in her home community, and she had long dreamed of taking that experience internationally.
Gary’s younger brother Ron is on the board of the Mary A. Tidlund Charitable Foundation, and when the group learned that many Nicaraguan families struggle to get by on about $1 a day, they decided to take their skills south and give back to a community in need.
Playtime improves a child’s attendance and ability to learn at school, said Vermeulen.
So the group packed up used playground equipment salvaged from Canada and shipped it to Nicaragua.
Stertil-Koni, the leader in heavy-duty lifts, donated funds to help the team “lift” the spirits of the children.
However, the group faced a challenge when they arrived to start the installation. The playground equipment was delayed for several days by customs authorities.
Gary Vermeulen of Alberta-based Westva
For a time, it seemed like the trip would end in a bust, but the group overcame the obstacle. They eventually got the equipment and then installed the playgrounds in a quick two days, by working together and rallying the communities. Success was easy to see in the faces of the local kids.c
The trip was also a success for the Canadian volunteers, who felt great knowing they had made a difference in the community. It was a strong reminder that success comes in different forms, and that it often involves people and the well-being of others, as well as professional achievement.
“The volunteer work Gary, Charlotte, Ron, and the rest of the team did in Nicaragua is a shining example of how Stertil-Koni’s partners can give back to the community and make a difference,” said Dr. Jean DellAmore, president of Stertil-Koni USA.
