Giving back during unprecedented times

COVID-19 has sparked disruption in many lives and, since the pandemic was declared in March, TC Energy has contributed more than $3.8 million in donations to organizations responding to the crisis – including more than $592,000 contributed by our workforce.

Seth Johnson has always given back to his communities since a young age, however, now his motivation for giving back is driven by his understanding that life can be unpredictable, especially amid this pandemic.

“Anyone’s situation can change at the drop of a hat. I give because, if my situation were to suddenly change, I would hope that somebody would be willing to assist my family the way we support others. I’ve been very blessed and, with the opportunities that I’ve been afforded, I owe it back to others to try to help them too. If the roles were reversed, that’s what I’d hope for,” Seth explains.

Making an impact

When he started at TC Energy in 2012, he was instantly excited by how we managed our workforce giving program, Empower, and was inspired to become an Empower Agent to increase his impact on the lives of many throughout his community. Empower Agents are ambassadors of the giving program, supporting others in the organization to do good and give back.

Throughout the years he’s worked at the company, Seth credits his biggest accomplishment to integrating himself with the giving programs as an Agent and maximizing opportunities for the betterment of communities across the Mid-America Region.

Empower and beyond

Along with his efforts through Empower, Seth is also involved in other community initiatives like industry groups such as Eastern Gas Compression Roundtable, where he serves on its publicity board to do things such as reaching out to schools that have engineering or technical programs that could benefit from the organization.

“I also do publicity outreach by working to make connections between those young people and the vendors and operators that keep our industry rolling. And I get to log this volunteer work with TC Energy, receiving rewards and increasing my impact!”

Additionally, he has a hobby of making knives, which may not seem on the surface to include a giving component, but through his tenacity and unwavering commitment, Seth has tied into an opportunity to do good.

“Every year, I make a knife and give it to the Seth Harris Childhood Cancer Foundation. Seth Harris was a child from my hometown who was diagnosed with cancer when he was about 10 years old. He valiantly fought the disease, but sadly passed away at 12 years old,” said Seth.

“The Foundation helps other families struggling through their children’s cancer treatments. In addition to donating the materials needed to make the knife to the Foundation, I also volunteer to make the knife and donate it to them. Raffle tickets are sold to win the knife during an annual fishing rodeo and all the money raised goes to the foundation.”

More information

Read more about our workforce giving back:

• Knitting for newborns: how Catherine Potter makes a difference
• Community Compassion enables Brandy Bruckner to empower others

Check out how TC Energy gives back to the communities where we live and work.