Surprises and lots of emotion for the 3rd annual canada-wide philanthropic contest

Over $350,000 for ten Canadian charities
iA Financial Group is pleased to announce that the organization Le Phare Enfants et Familles, in Montreal, is the grand prize winner of our third annual philanthropic contest and will be awarded a donation of $125,000. This significant financial support will increase the reach of the respite program the organization offers to families of children in palliative care.

Closely following Le Phare are the Association pour l’intégration sociale de Québec (Quebec City) and the Centre d’aide aux proches aidants des Basques (Trois-Pistoles, Quebec), in second and third place, who will each receive a $50,000 donation. The voting results were so close between the third and fourth places that iA Financial Group decided to award an additional donation of $50,000 to the Jennifer Ashleigh Children’s Charity in Uxbridge, Ontario.

“Many people from all across Canada voted for the projects and the organizations they found the most inspiring, and it ended up being a very close race. Thank you to the many Canadian organizations who participated. And I’d like to take this opportunity to encourage people, from east to west, to apply next year!”, said Mr. Denis Ricard, President and Chief Executive Officer of iA Financial Group.

Many happy surprises
Le Phare Enfants et Familles follows the Swift Current, Saskatchewan branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association, who won the big donation last year. As well as touching the public’s hearts, the Montreal charity also won the iA Financial Group Employee Favourite award and will receive an additional donation of $25,000, bringing the total donation to $150,000.

The second-place winner, the Association pour l’intégration sociale, Quebec City region, will use the $50,000 donation they received to support OASIS+, their service that matches Social Work or Occupational Therapy students with families of people with an intellectual disability or autism spectrum disorder. The Centre d’aide aux proches aidants des Basques and the Jennifer Ashleigh Children’s Charity sharing the third-place spot will use their $50,000 donations to increase the respite services offered in their community.

The six other finalist organizations will receive donations of $10,000 each: the VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation in Vancouver, the Alberta AdaptAbilities Association in Edmonton, the Battlefords Boys & Girls Club in North Battlefords, Saskatchewan, the Ronald McDonald House and the Massey Centre in Toronto and the Prince Edward Island Association for Community Living in Charlottetown.

The goal of this year’s contest was to provide financial support to organizations working in the health, education or social services sectors, who provide respite for families, loved ones and others who need it. Hundreds of charity organizations responded to the call sent out by iA Financial Group in September. A jury analyzed all the projects we received from across the country, and selected ten finalists, which were submitted to the public vote.

The four winning organizations and their projects:

1. Le Phare Enfants et Familles, Montreal, QC – Donations of $125,000 and $25,000 (iA Employee Favourite)
Le Phare provides free respite to families of children with life-threatening illnesses needing pediatric palliative care. This donation of $150,000 will allow the organization and its partners to extend their services to help families in Outaouais, Estrie, Mauricie, Abitibi-Témiscamingue and Gaspésie.

2. Association pour l’intégration sociale, région de Québec (AISQ), Quebec City, QC – Donation of $50,000
The AISQ promotes the well-being and quality of life of people with intellectual disabilities and their loved ones. This donation will support OASIS+, their service that matches Social Work or Occupational Therapy students with families of people with an intellectual disability or autism spectrum disorder.

3. Centre d’aide aux proches aidants des Basques (CAPAB), Trois-pistoles, QC – Donation of $50,000
The Centre eases the daily lives of family caregivers so that they can continue helping the care recipient. This donation from iA Financial Group will allow them to enhance their in-home respite service and develop a new out-of-home program.

4. Jennifer Ashleigh Children’s Charity (JACC), Uxbridge, ON – Donation of $50,000
JACC improves the quality of life for children in Ontario with serious illnesses and life-altering conditions, as well as their families, through financial support. This donation from iA Financial Group will allow them to double the amount of respite care they can provide to each family that applies for their support in 2020.