The seventh annual GivingTuesday – the global giving movement following the shopping frenzies of Black Friday and Cyber Monday which encourages people to support their communities – took place on Tuesday, December 3. Gore Mutual Foundation celebrated this day of giving by donating $50,000 to charities across Canada.
This year marked Gore Mutual Foundation’s third consecutive year participating in GivingTuesday. Over the past three years, the foundation has granted $130,000 to 33 Canadian charities as part of GivingTuesday. Last year, the Foundation granted $40,000 to Canadian charities on this day of giving. Wanting to make an even greater impact, this year Gore Mutual Foundation gifted $50,000 – its largest GivingTuesday donation to date.
“These days it’s easy to focus on the things that pull us apart,” said Marina Glogovac, President and CEO, CanadaHelps, co-founders of the GivingTuesday movement in Canada. “But, GivingTuesday is one of those rare things that brings the entire world together.”
Wanting to unite Canadians and give them a chance to support the causes they believe in, Gore Mutual Insurance Company ran a social media campaign from November 7 – 27 encouraging its national network of insurance brokers, customers and all Canadians to nominate their favourite charities using #GoreMutual and #GivingTuesdayCA. Nearly 700 organizations were nominated from coast to coast to receive one of ten $5,000 grants, with supporters praising the nominated charities for the work they do to strengthen local communities.
“This year, we celebrated 180 years of business and giving has certainly been an integral part of our identity throughout our history as a mutual insurance company,” said Gore Mutual President and CEO, Heidi Sevcik. “We feel we have a corporate social responsibility to support communities and causes across Canada. Partnering with GivingTuesday is a natural fit and through social media we hope to influence others to make a positive impact to charities in their own communities.”
Following the closing of nominations on November 27, all employees at Gore Mutual’s offices in Cambridge, Ontario and Vancouver, British Columbia voted to select ten charities to receive $5,000 GivingTuesday grants. The organizations chosen were: the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) Foundation, Essential Aid and Family Services of Ontario Inc., Bereaved Families of Ontario – Midwestern Region, the Alzheimer Society Waterloo Wellington, My Friend’s House in Collingwood, ChildCan in London, Covenant House Vancouver, VGH and UBC Hospital Foundation, Canuck Place Children’s Hospice and Dixon Transition Society in Burnaby, BC. Staff from Gore Mutual hand delivered $5,000 cheques to each of these charities on December 3 for GivingTuesday.
Here’s what some of the charities had to say about their GivingTuesday gifts.
“Essential Aid is beyond grateful to receive this donation from Gore Mutual on GivingTuesday,” said Raven Van Bommel, Founder and Executive Director at Essential Aid and Family Services of Ontario Inc. “This gift ensures that our Infant & Toddler Food Bank shelves are full for the holidays, and that no little one in need of our services is turned away. Thank you, Gore Mutual!”
“We are honoured and so very grateful to receive this donation from Gore Mutual,” said Jaime Bickerton, Executive Director at Bereaved Families of Ontario. “It means grieving parents and families in our community can continue to receive support when they need it most. Thank you for making that possible.”
“A diagnosis of childhood cancer brings with it numerous and lengthy hospital stays and a myriad of inpatient and outpatient appointments,” said Kathleen Barnard, Executive Director at Childcan. “For some of our families who travel long distances to treatment, the outpatient appointments can be particularly taxing, especially when they are early in the morning. Gore Mutual’s incredibly generous donation will go directly to our Accommodations Fund, covering the costs of a hotel stay before such an early morning appointment. The worry that this alleviates, on top of all that already comes with your child being very sick, is priceless. We are beyond grateful for the support Gore Mutual has shown Childcan, our children and our families.”
To learn more about GivingTuesday Canada, visit their website here.
