Wawanesa to provide CA$1.8 million in financial support

Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company has launched a new initiative to provide financial support to community groups and civil rights movements in both Canada and the US.

The insurer has established the “Caring Together” initiative, which will provide CA$1.8 million in funding to community groups impacted by COVID-19; these groups include Indigenous and remote Northern communities, United Way centres, hospital foundations, and food banks in Canada and the US. Caring Together will also provide funding to civil rights and social justice organizations in both countries that are focused on supporting Black communities.

Caring Together will also feature a dollar-for-dollar donation matching program open to Wawanesa employees and broker partners, allowing them to support community and social justice groups in their own way.

“As a mutual insurer, Wawanesa is guided by values that focus on being a positive force in our communities,” said Wawanesa president and CEO Jeff Goy. “The health and economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the growing outrage against systemic racism, are powerful forces affecting our communities. Given these unprecedented times, companies like ours have a responsibility to step up and do more.”

The Caring Together initiative’s current commitments are:

• $500,000 will go to United Way’s COVID-19 Response to increase its support for local community partners in Canada and US, providing people and families with food, shelter, and mental health support in disadvantaged and marginalized communities.
• $400,000 will go to Indigenous and remote northern communities, supporting needs identified by the communities themselves. To help identify those needs and distribute funds, Wawanesa has teamed up with the Canadian Red Cross and True North Aid.
• $400,000 will go to civil rights and social justice organizations supporting Black communities in the US and Canada, specifically the National Urban League, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Black Health Alliance and the Black Business and Professional Association.
• $250,000 will go to hospitals in Canada and the US to support frontline healthcare workers and COVID-19 research.
• $250,000 will support a dollar-for-dollar donation matching program, open to all employees and the firm’s brokers.

Aside from the Caring Together program, Wawanesa previously committed CA$3.5 million to community organizations in Canada and the US earlier this year.