NAYGN’s corporate chapter at Southern Nuclear Operating Company (SNC) participated in Birmingham Alabama’s first ever Canstruction® event in October, 2013. Canstruction® is an international charity competition where teams design and build giant structures made entirely from full cans of food. At the close of each event, the food is donated to local organizations that feed the hungry in those communities. The canned food collected during the Birmingham event was donated to the Foundry Rescue Mission and Recovery Center. The Foundry helps provide more than 300,000 meals each year to their residents and hungry men, women and children in the community.
The build out took place on October 4, 2013 at Colonial Brookwood Village, and the canstructures remained on display through October 18th. The public was invited to view the creations and vote for the People’s Choice award via a $1 onsite donation. The event was highly publicized by media sponsors Fox 6 News and WDJC. Funds generated through the onsite voting were donated to the Foundry to further their programs that help rebuild lives and restore hope to more than 2,500 people each year.
SNC Nukes’ Completed Tower
The SNC Nukes’ canstructure was a hyperbolic cooling tower, based on the design dimensions of SNC’s Plant Vogtle Units 3&4 cooling towers. The team’s slogan was “Creating a chain reaction to CAN hunger”. Participation in this event was part of the public outreach committee’s 2013 commitment to educate the community about nuclear energy and its many benefits, as well as the commitment to give back to the local community. At this event, chapter members were also wearing team shirts that said “Ask me about NUCLEAR” to further engage the public in conversations on topics relevant to our industry.
The SNC Nukes had held a food drive during the month of July to collect the cans needed to build the cooling tower canstructure. Monetary donations were also collected, including donations from sponsors Tice & Associates and Mayer Electric. Due to the tremendous support of the SNC employees and its vendors, the $690 in monetary donations and 400 cans collected allowed the SNC Nukes to build the 1,500 can structure at the size originally planned: a 6-foot tall cooling tower. Funds provided by the corporate NAYGN budget were used to pay the $100 entry fee and $300 in construction materials needed.
The SNC Nukes Team
The following are the NAYGN team members that made this accomplishment possible:
- Julia Green – Project Team Captain, NAYGN Public Outreach Co-Chair
- David Sexton – Co-CPT, NAYGN Chapter President
- Zach Ryals – Co-CPT, NAYGN Public Outreach Chair
- Scott McWhorter
- Ashley Simons
- Cotasha Blackburn
- Shantavia McCurdy
- Crystal Ward
- Jamel Bell
- Vincent Williams
- Deborah Jennings