Like the Supertramp song says: “There’s so much that we need to share, so send a smile and show you care.”

In 2021, we were fortunate to be able to send more than smiles and sponsor a handful of events and donate to several organizations that are close to our hearts who do the amazing work of taking care of our community members.

Dartmouth General Hospital Foundation (DGHF) invests in equipment, facilities and programs that support the delivery of exceptional patient care at the Dartmouth General Hospital. We were happy to support DGHF’s men’s and women’s health initiatives this year with a donation aimed at bringing equipment such as a new, high-resolution ultrasound to the hospital.

Brigadoon Village offers a variety of camps for children living with health conditions and other life challenges – giving extraordinary kids a chance to be ordinary. We were happy to see that the summer camp was back on for 2021 and that we could support them.

L’Arche Halifax is a community committed to being an active presence in support of persons with disabilities in the greater Halifax area. Our partner group and advisors participated in the David Banks Memorial Golf Tournament this year in support of L’Arche and in memory of a dear colleague. A great day for a wonderful cause.

We Are Young (WAY) is a registered charity, founded in Halifax, that honours our elders and strives to bring happiness by helping them fulfill their unexplored dreams and wishes, big or small. Our branch partners participated in a fun-filled, soggy day of golf to support WAY.

Veith House is an inclusive neighbourhood hub where everyone is welcome with the aim to build and strengthen community, reduce poverty and address food insecurity. We were so excited that the annual Hydrostone Tree Lighting, presented by Veith House, was able to happen this year! In addition to a monetary sponsorship of the event, our advisors, assistants, and branch staff volunteered their time to help set up the park for the event and hand out cookies and hot drinks while Santa made his rounds.

The Street Connection is a mobile soup kitchen that operates in four low-income areas of HRM.  Operating on a regular schedule, volunteers on the bus distribute free food and bread to an average of three hundred men, women, and children each week. We are so grateful for the work they do and that we can support them year after year.

Every year, we choose a local charity to support with our Christmas Raffle. Leading up to our Christmas Party, staff can purchase tickets to win a great prize. This year, all proceeds went to Ward 5 Neighborhood Centre. Ward 5 is a non-profit organization, located on Russell Street in Halifax, providing community programs for over 30 years. In an average year, the Centre prepares and serves more than 18,000 hot meals to children and seniors.

Our staff holiday initiatives for 2021 were the Stocking Stuffer Drive for Phoenix Centre for Youth and a food drive for Feed NS. Our teams outdid themselves with generosity this year, donating 4 boxes to Phoenix House and 135kg of food to Feed NS, in addition to a monetary donation.

Thank you to the wonderful organizations we mentioned for all you do to make the community a better place! Beyond the support we have given as a branch to these worthy causes, on an individual basis our advisors and staff support many other fantastic organizations including sports and music sponsorships, theatre, youth programs, and more. We are extremely proud of our team and their efforts to give back.