Just before Christmas, ICMIF member Gore Mutual Insurance Company (Canada) announced that it was reflecting the spirit of the holiday season by donating CAD 95,000 to support Canadian charities helping communities in need through its Gore Mutual Foundation.
The funds were granted as part of Gore Mutual’s Healthy for the Holidays campaign. The holiday season is a particularly difficult time for millions of Canadians who cannot afford a basic standard of living or suffer from depression and other wellness-related risks.
COVID-19 is making matters far worse as the pandemic continues to create economic hardships, isolate people and stretch the support that charities are able to offer. Gore Mutual will divide its Healthy for the Holidays donations between seven organisations in Ontario and British Columbia. The insurer is donating CAD 40,000 to the United Way Waterloo Region Communities and CAD 5,000 to the United Way of the Lower Mainland. The Cambridge Self-Help Food Bank, Food Bank of Waterloo Region, Barrie Food Bank, Windsor Essex Food Bank Association and Greater Vancouver Food Bank will also each receive CAD 10,000 grants from Gore Mutual.
2020 was a historic year of giving for Gore Mutual. In April, the company donated CAD 2 million in matching grants through the CanadaHelps’ COVID-19 Cause Funds to provide immediate assistance to hospitals, shelters, food banks and charities working to provide critical support to those in need. On 1 December, Gore Mutual granted an additional CAD 50,000 to Canadian charities as part of GivingTuesday.
In a December 2020 press release from Gore Mutual, the organisation’s CEO Andy Taylor said: “There have already been more than 500,000 cases of COVID-19 in Canada this year. As the numbers continue to rise, corporations have a social responsibility to act and support vulnerable populations through charitable organizations, especially as we approach the holidays. The manner in which companies of all sizes respond to this crisis will be a defining moment for them in society.”
“The pandemic has exacerbated the growing social and economic inequalities that are leaving many Canadians at risk of malnutrition, hunger, depression and more,” said Farouk Ahamed, Chair of the Board at Gore Mutual. “As a modern mutual insurance company, giving is in our DNA and we have a responsibility to help.”
Founded in 1839, Gore Mutual is Canada’s oldest property and casualty insurer, with over CAD 500 million in premiums and over CAD 1.1 billion in assets. Based in Cambridge, Ontario and Vancouver, British Columbia, this Canadian-owned and operated mutual company employs over 450 people and is known for its investment in people, technology and innovation. Gore Mutual was voted the #1 insurance company by the Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario (IBAO) in 2014, named a 2019 Best Workplace in Financial Services and Insurance and certified as a 2020 Best Workplace Canada.
The Gore Mutual Foundation strengthens Canadian communities by supporting local initiatives and has donated more than CAD 12 million to over 650 charities over the past 20 years.
