Toronto, ON. | Make-A-Wish® Canada is excited to once again partner with the Convenience Industry Council of Canada (CICC) and thousands of convenience stores across Canada to raise funds during National Convenience Week, taking place from Monday, August 29th to Friday, September 2nd, 2022.
National Convenience Week is an annual, end-of-summer event recognizing and celebrating the convenience channel and essential convenience store workers. Our national partnership with CICC has raised a total of over $389,000 in the past three years, and directly supports our mission to grant life-changing wishes to children with critical illnesses.
“The Convenience Industry Council of Canada is thrilled to continue our 10-year partnership with Make-A-Wish Canada for National Convenience Week,” says Anne Kothawala, President & CEO of CICC.
“The local corner store is essential to communities and families. Make-a-Wish is essential for providing hope to children, which makes our collaboration so impactful. With a vast footprint across the country, we are uniquely positioned to convene communities to rally support for children and families in-need. Our partnership with Make-a-Wish helps grant deserving, life-changing wishes to critically-ill children and is a testament to the important role our industry plays in helping families and communities grow stronger, together.”
The pandemic was a difficult time for children waiting on wishes to be granted, and now that the world is opening up again, Make-A-Wish Canada is preparing to address the significant backlog of 4,000 wishes yet to come true.
“Make-A-Wish is incredibly proud of our important partnership with CICC. This is significant backing from an essential industry in Canada, and right now, we are in critical need of support to help us grant all the wishes we have waiting” says Meaghan Stovel McKnight, CEO, Make-A-Wish Canada. “We know that with the support of amazing national partners like CICC, we can continue to restore hope to children facing critical illness. We are so grateful for the CICC and their heartfelt commitment and investment to our cause.”
This year’s Wish Kid Ambassador is Beau, who had his wish granted in 2021 when he was four years old. His wish to go to Great Wolf Lodge was just the ticket for Beau, who loves swimming and water slides Not only was this wish an amazing experience that strengthened their family bond, but it also allowed them to forget about the anniversary of Beau’s diagnosis. Reflecting on his wish experience, Beau’s mom said, “We had an excuse to spend time together and to make new memories – especially being able to take away the day of his diagnosis!”
To learn more about National Convenience Week, visit https://makeawish.ca/ncw2022/