THE ROSSY FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES $30M IN DONATIONS TO MARK DOLLARAMA'S OVER 30 YEARS OF SERVING CANADIANS
MONTRÉAL, Nov. 28, 2024 /PRNewswire/ - Dollarama (TSX: DOL) and The Rossy Foundation are pleased to announce a national charitable giving initiative in celebration of Dollarama's over 30 years of serving Canadians.
With the input of Dollarama employees nationwide, The Rossy Foundation has directed $30 million in donations to 25 charitable organizations active in Canadian communities from coast to coast to coast.
The 25 charitable organizations were selected for their important contributions to Canadians' lives and Canadian society across four pillars of action, including:
- Meeting urgent needs, such as food security;
- Promoting positive development by supporting children's mental health and school readiness;
- Caring for communities through environmental education and action; and
- Inspiring excellence in areas such as athletics, education and entrepreneurship.
Dollarama employees helped determine the allocation of the funds by voting for the organization of their choice from among those active in their region.
The funds will be used by the selected organizations to improve the quality of their services, scale the reach of their programs and launch new initiatives. This support comes at a critical time for many charities, which have faced record levels of demand for services in recent months.
Selected Charitable Organizations:
- Alloprof
- Canadian Olympic Foundation
- Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society
- Feed Nova Scotia Society
- Feed Ontario
- First Book Canada
- Food Banks Alberta Association
- Food Banks British Columbia
- Food Banks Canada
- Food Banks of Québec
- Food Banks of Saskatchewan Corporation
- Food Depot Alimentaire Inc.
- Fusion Jeunesse
- Harvest Manitoba Inc.
- Indspire
- Junior Achievement of Canada
- Kids Help Phone
- La Tablée des Chefs
- Moisson Montréal
- Paralympic Foundation of Canada
- The Community Food Sharing Association Inc.
- The Earth Rangers Foundation
- The Upper Room Hospitality Ministry Inc. (PEI Food Banks Association)
- Second Harvest Canada
- Société pour la nature et les parcs du Canada (Section Québec)
See below for more information about each organization's mission and impact.
About Dollarama
Dollarama is a recognized Canadian value retailer offering a broad assortment of consumable products, general merchandise and seasonal items both in-store and online. Our 1,583 locations across Canada provide customers with compelling value in convenient locations, including metropolitan areas, mid-sized cities and small towns. Select products are also available, by the full case only, through our online store at www.dollarama.com. Our quality merchandise is sold at select fixed price points up to $5.00.
Dollarama also owns a 60.1% interest in Dollarcity, a growing Latin American value retailer. Dollarcity offers a broad assortment of consumable products, general merchandise and seasonal items at select, fixed price points up to US$4.00 (or the equivalent in local currency) in 570 conveniently located stores in El Salvador, Guatemala, Colombia and Peru.
About The Rossy Foundation
The Rossy Foundation (or The RF) is a Montréal-based private foundation established in 2004 by Larry Rossy, the founder of Dollarama. The RF's mission is to positively impact civil society and improve the lives of Canadians. The RF supports initiatives that foster healthy and resilient communities and champions changemakers and leading organizations that are solving complex and persistent social problems. The RF grants in the areas of health research and clinical care innovation, mental health, civic engagement, and the environment while maintaining the flexibility to respond to urgent and emerging community needs. The RF is committed to supporting the vibrancy of Montréal, and also funds charitable organizations across Canada and internationally within its areas of focus.
More About the Selected Charitable Organizations:
Pillar | Organization | Geography | Description |
Meeting urgent needs | |||
1. | Feed Nova Scotia Society | Nova Scotia | Feed Nova Scotia distributes 3 million kg of food annually to 140 member food banks and other agencies across the province. After 40 years, Feed Nova Scotia recognizes the need is growing and we can't feed our way out of it. While we continue to supply emergency food support, we are also working to find long-term solutions to food insecurity in Nova Scotia. |
2. | Feed Ontario | Ontario | Feed Ontario supports over 1200 food banks and hunger-relief organizations across the province, delivering millions of pounds of food and serving more than 1 million Ontarians each year. We address the immediate and urgent need that food insecure people and families face today while advocating for programs and solutions that make ending hunger a priority in our province. |
3. | Food Banks Alberta Association | Alberta | Food Banks Alberta joins together our 112-member food banks to address food insecurity within Alberta. Our food banks serve every area of the province, from large, urban centres to rural and remote communities. We work towards the same goals: feeding Alberta children, families, individuals and seniors and eliminating hunger in our great province. |
4. | Food Banks British Columbia | British Columbia | Food Banks BC is the provincial association of food banks, comprised of 108 hunger relief agencies throughout British Columbia. We are committed to supporting urgent hunger relief services now while taking the necessary actions to eliminate the need for these services by advocating for systems change. Our vision is a hunger-free British Columbia. |
5. | Food Banks Canada | National | In collaboration with a coast to coast to coast network, Food Banks Canada provides national leadership to relieve hunger today and prevent hunger tomorrow. We strengthen local food banks through grants and capacity-building initiatives to help maximize collective impact and strengthen local capacity. |
6. | Food Banks of Québec | Québec | The Food Banks of Québec (FBQ) network is present throughout Québec with its 34 regional members, many of which operate under the Moisson name. They provide nutritious foodstuffs to 1,300 affiliated community organizations delivering food assistance to hundreds of thousands of people and responding to 2.9 million requests for food aid every month. |
7. | Food Banks of Saskatchewan Corporation | Saskatchewan | The Food Banks of Saskatchewan are dedicated to combatting hunger and fostering resilience. We provide essential resources that empower individuals and families to thrive. We strive not only to alleviate immediate needs but also to inspire lasting change—nurturing dignity while ensuring everyone enjoys the fundamental right to healthy meals. |
8. | Food Depot Alimentaire Inc. | New Brunswick | Food Depot Alimentaire supports 65 food banks and other agencies across New Brunswick. Those agencies provide food assistance to individuals and families during over 55,000 monthly visits. We also provide food for breakfast programs in 135 schools, impacting more than 40,000 students per week, and advocate for long-term solutions to food insecurity. |
9. | Harvest Manitoba Inc. | Manitoba | Harvest Manitoba is a community-driven organization dedicated to fighting hunger and reducing food waste. By distributing millions of pounds of food each year, Harvest supports over 100,000 Manitobans monthly, including families, seniors, and children in need. |
10. | La Tablée des Chefs | Québec | La Tablée des Chefs' mission is to feed families in need by combating food waste and food insecurity, and to offer culinary education to youth so they become self-sufficient. |
11. | Moisson Montréal | Montréal | Moisson Montréal is Canada's largest food bank, distributing 19.3 million kg of food annually to nearly 300 community agencies in Montréal. These agencies fulfill nearly one million requests for food aid each month. Thanks to an operating model based primarily on food recovery and volunteering, each $1 donation enables Moisson Montréal to distribute over $15 worth of food. |
12. | Second Harvest Canada | National | Second Harvest is Canada's largest food rescue organization and a thought leader in food recovery and redistribution. We capture unsold, healthy food and redirect it to people, not landfills, minimizing the environmental impact of unnecessary waste and maximizing food's healthy potential. |
13. | The Community Food Sharing Association Inc. | Newfoundland and Labrador | The Community Food Sharing Association is the pivotal agency for food distribution to the hungry in Newfoundland and in Labrador. Our employees, with the help of hundreds of caring volunteers and community-minded businesses, manage the collection and distribution of food through 60 food banks throughout Newfoundland and Labrador. |
14. | The Upper Room Hospitality Ministry Inc. | Prince Edward Island | The PEI Food Bank Association finds its home in the Upper Room Hospitality Ministry Inc., which operates Prince Edward Island's largest food bank and soup kitchen. We provide monthly take-home groceries, daily hot meals, and essential resources to members and partner organizations in need. |
Promoting positive development | |||
15. | Alloprof | Québec | At Alloprof, we believe that every child deserves to succeed, no matter what their challenges are. That's why Alloprof helps half a million students transform their academic challenges into successes every year in Québec, thanks to our free, professional and stimulating tools and services. |
16. | First Book Canada | National | First Book Canada eliminates barriers to educational resources and inspires young minds by making new, quality books available to kids in need. Books provide windows to a wider world; reveal mirrors to reflect empowered, diverse experiences; and open doors to lifelong learning and opportunity. We work to reduce educational inequities for those living in poverty. |
17. | Kids Help Phone | National | Kids Help Phone is Canada's only 24/7 national, e-mental health service offering free, confidential, multilingual support to young people. As the country's virtual care expert, we give millions of youth a safe, trusted space to Feel Out Loud over the phone, through text, or in self-directed supports for any moment of crisis or need. |
Caring for communities | |||
18. | Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society | National | CPAWS advocates for the effective, long-term protection of ecologically- and culturally-significant land, freshwater and ocean areas in Canada. We achieve our mission through knowledge-based advocacy, and public education and engagement, underpinned by collaboration and partnership. |
19. | Société pour la nature et les parcs du Canada – Section Québec | Québec | SNAP Québec is working to create a network of protected areas across the province to ensure the long-term protection of the boreal forest, the Far North, the St. Lawrence and the ecosystems that are home to our threatened species. We also ensure the proper management of existing protected areas. |
20. | The Earth Rangers Foundation | National | Earth Rangers provides free environmental programs to children across Canada. Our mission is to create a generation of conservationists who not only understand the challenges our planet is facing, but that those challenges have solutions. The result is kids who are empowered to take actions that make them feel more hopeful, happy, and confident. |
Inspiring excellence | |||
21. | Canadian Olympic Foundation | National | The Canadian Olympic Foundation (COF) raises funds to support athletes at all stages of their pathway to the podium, and beyond. |
22. | Fusion Jeunesse | Québec | Our mission is to contribute to student retention, guidance & employability, and civic engagement by implementing innovative experiential learning projects that create ongoing links between schools and the community. |
23. | Indspire | National | Indspire is an Indigenous charity that invests in the education of First Nations, Inuit and Métis people across Canada. We support Indigenous students with financial awards for post-secondary education, programming and resources so they can achieve their highest potential. |
24. | Junior Achievement of Canada | National | JA Canada delivers over 400,000 hands-on, immersive learning experiences each year in entrepreneurship, financial health, and work readiness to youth in every province. Our programs ignite the entrepreneurial spirit of young people, helping them launch businesses, develop skills for the future and contribute to their communities. |
25. | Paralympic Foundation of Canada | National | The Paralympic Foundation of Canada ensures Canadians with a disability are offered ample opportunities to experience the transformative power of sport. |
SOURCE Dollarama Inc.
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