Community support still going strong during pandemic

We’ve always believed that to be successful in business, you need to be about more than just sales and profits. Giving back to the community has always been part of our mission statement and our corporate culture – and we’re pleased to have been recently recognized for our efforts.

We were honoured with one of the first-ever Canadian Grocer Impact Awards. Winners were announced last month, and were chosen for making a positive impact in one of four categories: Sustainability; Supporting Employees; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; and Community Service.

We were recognized not only for our overall focus on the latter, but for the Community Product Initiative we launched in 2018 that has so far raised well in excess of $60,000 for several life-changing organizations. More on that soon when we do our quarterly update to let you know how much we’ve raised – so far – for this year’s recipient: Southlake Regional Health Centre’s Mental Health Program.

On that note, we had recently launched another initiative to help raise the spirits of some of our most vulnerable residents who have been negatively impacted by the pandemic. Social isolation disproportionally affects older adults, so now more than ever, it is essential to bring them together for times of sharing and caring. To do so, we directed resources from our Community Support Fund, along with customer donations, to launch the #SOS Project Smile campaign.

“This initiative was created to uplift and bring smiles to our senior communities,” said Maria Ciarlandini, Vince’s Community Ambassador. “I believe that small acts of kindness can make a large impact, and together with the support of the amazing customers who donated, we were able to do just that.”

Project Smile was delayed several times due to the pandemic, but by September, restrictions were eased enough to deliver covid-safe parties at three local retirement homes: Chartwell Alexander Muir (Newmarket/East Gwillimbury), Shobrook Gardens (Uxbridge), and Kingsmere Retirement Residence (Alliston/Tottenham). Our team was excited to put together a selection of custom party platters – including all the trimmings – for each of the locations, and bring some cheer to the residents.

“Social activities are a powerful tool against loneliness, and there’s nothing like good food – and good company – to rekindle some of the connections that may have been lost during the pandemic,” said Giancarlo Trimarchi, partner at Vince’s. “We are pleased we could provide what was needed for these long-overdue celebrations, and thank our customers for contributing as well.”