MONTREAL — There’s nothing more rewarding than giving back, just ask Air Canada.

To commemorate Giving Tuesday yesterday, the Air Canada Foundation announced plans to donate more than $1.6 million by year’s end to support programs or projects by eligible registered charities that contribute to the health and well being of children and youth in Canada.

The Foundation, a registered charitable organization, is dedicated to helping connect sick children to the medical care they need. Each year, the Foundation helps hundreds of charitable organizations across Canada, whether through financial support, by donating plane tickets to support its fundraising activities, or through in-kind support, including the donation of Aeroplan Miles to pediatric hospitals in Canada.

“The health and well-being of children are at the core of the Air Canada Foundation’s mission. That is why we are always extremely pleased to present these funds to organizations whose programs and projects are aligned with the Foundation’s mission,” said Priscille Leblanc, Chair of the Air Canada Foundation.

Mike House, president and CEO of the Stolllery Children’s Hospital Foundation, knows only too well the impact giving back has on families and communities.

“Air Canada Foundation’s mission to help connect children who are sick to the medical care they need aligns directly to our vision to give kids the best chance to live a long and healthy life. One of the ways we’re doing this is through the Awasisak Indigenous Health program at the Stollery that provides inpatient and outpatient services to 57 indigenous communities in Alberta, thanks to Air Canada Foundation’s generous support of our family-centred care services and community outreach programs.”

Other charitable organizations that have received funding from the Air Canada Foundation this year include:

• Starlight Children’s Foundation Canada, which will purchase 10 additional Fun Centre units for Canada’s largest pediatric hospitals based on their urgent needs.
• The IWK Foundationfor the redevelopment of their Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). This transformational equipment will enable the PICU to have a state-of-the-art family sleep room, which is vital to the family-centered approach to care.
• Breakfast Club of Canadawill be able to sustain three Indigenous schools by covering food and kitchen equipment purchases and develop two additionnal programs in the Northwest Territories and Yukon.
• Dreams Take Flight will enable eight trips from across Canada (Halifax, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Vancouver) for a magical day at Disney for approximately 1000 children.
• Missing Children’s Network Canada plans to visit 125 schools and educate 12,500 students through its SHINE program to reduce the number of reports of runaway youth in Quebecand their likelihood of being sexually exploited.

Starting January 2019, customers can view in the AC TV section of the in-flight entertainment system, two videos produced by the Janeway Hospital and McMaster Children’s Hospital that show the impact that financial support from the Foundation has had for the children and families that benefitted from it last year.