Irving Oil's Fuel the Care Marks 10th Anniversary

Program helps cover the fuel costs for families who are required to travel for their children's medical care.

BANGOR, ME, Sept. 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ - This year, Irving Oil's Fuel the Care program marked its 10^th anniversary. Over the past decade, Fuel the Care has provided fuel gift cards to over 35,000 families with children who require medical care throughout Atlantic Canada and New England.

Jess Cambridge and her family live in Brewer, Maine. Their daughter, Isabella Bertolino, was born missing 85 percent of her intestinal tract, the result of a disease called Short Gut Syndrome. Even though their primary physician was just a mile away at Eastern Maine Medical Center, there were no surgeons there who specialized in Isabella's case. The Bertolinos needed to travel over 130 miles to Portland, Maine for Isabella's surgeries.

"Fuel the Care has been a real help to my family. With daycare, working full time and having a child with significant health issues, the program has given my family peace of mind when dealing with long drives to Eastern Maine Medical," said Jess Cambridge. "When my child was sick it was almost impossible to think about anything else, from food shopping to paying our bills. Fuel the Care allows us to focus on our family when we travel and not on the expense, and I am grateful for that."

Irving Oil's Fuel the Care is administered to families in Maine through social workers and hospital administrators at EMHS. With many families facing monthly travel costs of several hundred dollars for accommodation, food and other necessities, Fuel the Care gives them one less thing to worry about. "Fuel the Care means so much to the families - it's a pleasant surprise to many of them and it's nice to have good news to share with them at such a stressful time," said Josh Scroggins, Director of the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals of EMHS.

Four additional hospitals participate in the Fuel the Care program in Atlantic Canada and New England: the Saint John Regional Hospital in Saint John, NB; the Janeway Child Health and Rehabilitation Centre in St. John's, NL; the IWK Health Centre in Nova Scotia and the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (CHaD) in New Hampshire.

"Many of us have seen how devastating it is for a family when a child becomes ill. We know Fuel the Care does not solve all of their worries when their children face illness, but it does allow them to have one less thing to be concerned about," said Mike Ashar, President of Irving Oil. "Over the last ten years we have received tremendous, positive feedback from Fuel the Care families. So as the program continues to grow, we are proud to offer this service to ease the burden on families in communities throughout Maine."

About Fuel the Care

Since 2002, Irving Oil's Fuel the Care program has helped nearly 35,000 families with seriously ill children throughout Atlantic Canada and New England. The program provides fuel gift cards to parents who must frequently travel to provide their children with urgent medical care. In addition to providing families with over $2 million in fuel gift cards, Fuel the Care has also provided $350,000 in funding for research into childhood diseases. For more information about Fuel the Care, visit www.facebook.com/irvingoil.

About Irving Oil

Irving Oil was founded in 1924 and is a privately owned regional refining and marketing company with a history of long-term partnerships and relationships. Irving Oil operates Canada's largest refinery, in Saint John NB, which is located 65 miles north of the US border and has reached production rates in excess of 300,000 barrels per day. The refinery exports over 80 per cent of its production to the US and accounts for 75 per cent of Canada's gasoline exports to the US and 19 per cent of all US gasoline imports. In 2003, Irving Oil became the first oil company to receive a US Environmental Protection Agency Clean Air Excellence Award, for its clean gasoline. For more information about Irving Oil, visit www.irvingoil.com

SOURCE Irving Oil Limited