 As a leader in health and community pharmacy, Shoppers Drug Mart/Pharmaprix is invested in the well-being of Canadians and their communities through our corporate philanthropic and community investment activities. Our past efforts in this area have provided funding for a wide-variety of health-related organizations focused on improving the quality of life for all Canadians. In addition to these efforts, in 2009 we placed greater emphasis on our programs targeted towards women’s health.
Stats:
$1.85 million raised through the 2009 Tree of Life® campaign.
330 women’s health programs benefited from the funds raised.
The Tree of Life®campaign, our largest in-store fundraising activity, was once again a great success in 2009. Since its inception in 2002, this locally-driven fundraising effort has raised more than $13 million for community health initiatives. Thanks to the efforts of our Shoppers Drug Mart/Pharmaprix employees, Associate-owners, their store teams, and the generosity of our customers, the three-week campaign in 2009 raised close to $1.85 million.
In 2009, the campaign’s focus was aligned to our new strategic direction for community investment: to support women’s health initiatives. Associate-owners across Canada selected local women’s health organizations as the beneficiaries of their fundraising. As a result, over 330 women’s health programs received funding from the 2009 Tree of Life® campaign. Click here to see the beneficiaries of this year’s campaign .
The Shoppers Drug Mart/Pharmaprix Life Foundation®, founded in 2004, continues to make a difference in our communities by promoting and supporting health care causes, pharmacy education and other related charitable events and causes. In 2009, the Shoppers Drug Mart/Pharmaprix Life Foundation®invested $1.57 million in support of condition-based health organizations, with increasing support for Canadian women’s health organizations, as well as pharmacy education. Funds were directed to 123 health-related initiatives designed to reduce the impact of more than 28 diseases and conditions. These included women’s cardiovascular disease, diabetes, epilepsy, breast cancer, multiple sclerosis, as well as issues impacting mental health.
Our new commitment to women’s health is founded in the belief that when Canadian women are healthy and well, Canada is health and well. Our research tells us that many women neglect their own health and well-being due to lack of time, information, motivation, or programming available to them. Therefore, we have designed our program to help advance women’s whole health, inclusive of body, mind and spirit.
To support our women’s health initiative, we are partnering with leading women’s health organizations to ensure we have the breadth and depth of programming to meet the needs of Canadian women. In partnership with these organizations, we can be there for women and their families in more communities across Canada, in new ways. As part of this initiative, Shoppers Drug Mart / Pharmaprix will provide greater access to the information and resources that women need to stay healthy in mind, body and spirit.
By partnering with national and local non-profit charitable organizations, we will work towards advancing women’s mental, physical and emotional health. We are pleased to announce our first partnership as the title sponsor of The Shoppers Drug Mart / Pharmaprix Weekend to End Women’s Cancers. This national event supports research and programs for women’s cancers at five leading Canadian cancer institutions across Canada. For the past five years, we have been a proud participant in this event through passionate employee involvement, raising more than $450,000 for the cause. In 2010, we hope to have over 1,000 Associate-owners and employees participate in the six walk cities across Canada: Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. We look forward to forging additional partnerships in 2010 to further our goal of supporting women’s whole health.
Making a Difference
“We are so pleased to be working with a company like Shoppers Drug Mart that shares our vision to put an end to women’s cancers and improve the quality of life for thousands of Canadian women. With support from Shoppers Drug Mart/Pharmaprix, one of the most recognized and trusted names in community health across Canada, we can do even more in the fight to end women’s cancers.” Paul Alofs, President and CEO of the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation
"The money raised by local Shoppers Drug Mart stores during the Tree of Life campaign provided our organization with much needed funds to support the purchase of an Ultrasound Endocavity Probe, which supports women's health in our community." Cheryl Bosley, President, Burnaby Hospital Foundation |
