Toronto – July 26, 2021 – Despite an extraordinarily challenging year, UFCW Canada members and Local Unions were undeterred in their extraordinary ongoing fundraising  efforts, raising more than $ 2.1 million dollars in their latest annual campaign to support the lifesaving and lifechanging work of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada (LLSC).

Since adopting the LLSC as their charity of choice in 1985, the UFCW family of members, Local Unions, and activists have now raised over $47.2 million in support of the LLSC. UFCW Canada members are your neighbours working in grocery stores, food processing plants, health care facilities, The Beer Store, security, hospitality, logistics, and other sectors of the economy, with many on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Through their heartfelt commitment and generosity, the UFCW Canada union family of members, activists, and Local Unions has been a pillar of strength and support over the past three decades for the LLSC,” said Paul Meinema, the National President of UFCW Canada. “As they have throughout the pandemic, day in and day out, UFCW Canada members and Local Unions continue to lead the way in helping their neighbors and communities across Canada – as well as the thousands of families across this country whose lives have been touched by blood cancers.”

In a typical year, UFCW Canada members, Local Unions, and allies organize and participate in numerous fundraising activities, including Light the Night walks to raise money for the fight against blood cancers. But the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of many of these events, including the Leukemia Bottle Drive – an annual Ontario-wide, May-weekend co-operative fundraiser between UFCW members and The Beer Store that converts deposits on bottles into donations to the LLSC. But even with the bottle drive canceled, bottle donations throughout the year still raised over $1.4 million.

The money raised annually by UFCW Canada activists and Local Unions across Canada is used to support research and programs to find a cure, provide better therapies and patient support, and raise public awareness of leukemia, lymphoma, and other blood cancers.

“We are grateful to UFCW Canada members, Local Unions and allies for their long-standing commitment to the blood cancer community,” says LLSC President Alicia Talarico. “Their generous support has helped to fuel what once seemed impossible – research that saves more lives, and critical programs that assist people at every step of their blood cancer experience. Without UFCW Canada members, Local Unions and allies, there would be fewer scientific breakthroughs and less support services available to those newly diagnosed, people in treatment and those navigating life after a blood cancer.”

You can find out more about the UFCW Canada family’s history of LLSC fundraising at ufcw.ca/leukemia. To learn more about The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada (LLSC), visit www.llscanada.org.

Thank you to UFCW Canada members and Local Unions