TRU Sweater Day ‘gets stretched’ in 2016 (includes hockey sweaters!) 

‘More of a good thing’ is the theme for this year’s TRU Sweater Day.

The event, organised by the TRU Sustainability Office, has been very popular at TRU over the last few years, so all of the good parts will be expanded upon for 2016: more photo opportunities, sweater contests, prizes, and free snacks; and more days to put on a sweater! (and save energy by turning down the heat a bit J). The event will now go for three days, February 2 to 4, 2016.

National Sweater Day—hosted by the World Wildlife Fund—brings awareness to climate change by asking individuals to help in the fight against it by reducing their fossil fuel use and turn down their thermostats slightly, and then put on a sweater to stay warm. “We’re turning the heat down to 20 degrees Celsius in most TRU buildings—which is the same temperature a lot of people keep their homes at—so with a nice sweater on, it really shouldn’t be a big deal to stay comfortable”, says Jim Gudjonson, Director of the Sustainability Office. “One of the highlights of the recent Paris conference on climate change is that the world is finally starting to agree on the need for all nations to work together on this issue; which everyone recognizes will take great effort to overcome. Our plan to expand this event will help with this effort. Now it will be called TRU Sweater Days!” Last year TRU saved 21.5 Giga-joules of natural gas by turning down the heat for one day, resulting in a cost-savings of $215.

The main event at TRU will happen on Thursday, February 4, but mini events will place on February 2nd and 3rd. All TRU community members—including from Open Learning when possible—are invited to participate. Here’s the schedule:

• February 2
  • ‘Sweaters for Schwag’: Anyone wearing a sweater is eligible to win random prizes around campus from our secret agents, who will be giving them away all day. From water bottles to free food or beverages!…but you can’t win if you’re not wearing a sweater!
  • Roving Photographer/Videographer: Our roving photographer will snap shots and video of you and your friends in your ‘finest yarn’ so we can post them on social media to show the world that TRU supports Sweater Day! Any photos taken can be used to enter ‘The Sweaties’ (look under February 4 for details).
• February 3 – Everything that happened February 2 will happen this day, along with the…
  • Hockey Sweater Contest – 11am to 1 pm in Student Street. In conjunction with Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada (http://www.kamloops.ca/hockeyday/) taking place in Kamloops February 3 to 6, there will be a photo booth set-up for everyone to get a picture of them in their favourite hockey sweater. Show us your colours! Everyone who gets get their picture taken will be entered into a draw for lunch for two at Culinary Arts as well as tickets to the Hockey Day in Kamloops’ WHL’s 50th Season Pro Am Game and The Music of Hockey events! Winners will be announced by 3pm on February 3rd.
  • We’ll even have hockey snacks on hand: chips and (root)beer!
• February 4 – Visit our booth in Student Street from 10 am to 2 pm.
  • ‘The Sweaties’ – This is the TRU sweater photo contest and there are three categories, so get your favourite sweater ready!
    1. Sweater with the Biggest ‘Wow!’ Factor,
    2. Most Beautiful Sweater, and
    3. Sweater with the Best Story (please submit written story, along with picture of you and the sweater, to: jgordon@tru.ca)
  • You can enter the contest in three ways: 1) have your photo taken at the booth on Feb. 4, 2) email a picture of you in your sweater to jgordon@tru.ca, or 3) post it on any of our social media platforms: Facebook: /TRUSustainability; Twitter: @TRUSustain; Instagram: @TRUSustain. All entries will be posted on social media.
  • Free Snacks! – Enjoy free popcorn (with real butter!), and fruit smoothies from the amazing Blender Bike!
  • Donations – Please drop off any clean and gently-used sweaters or any other unwanted clothes and we will donate them a local charity.
  • ‘Sweaters for Schwag’, and Roving Photographer/Videographer (from Feb. 2) will take place.

TRU Sweater Days is sponsored by Fortis BC and the Kamloops Real Canadian Superstore–thanks for your support! Questions about the event can be directed to James Gordon, Environmental Programs and Research Coordinator, TRU Sustainability Office (jgordon@tru.ca; 250-852-7153).

For media enquiries or images, please contact James Gordon, Programs and Research Coordinator   in the TRU Office of Environment and Sustainability, (250) 852-7153, jgordon@tru.ca.