L'Oréal Canada donates hand sanitizers to Canadian Blood Services to help protect donors and frontline staff during COVID-19

MONTREAL, May 4, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ -  As part of its nation-wide coronavirus solidarity program, L'Oréal Canada will donate thousands of units of hand sanitizer to Canadian Blood Services over the next three months to help protect frontline workers and donors in their collection centers across the country.

When Cosmetics Alliance Canada launched a call to action to its members recently to help support hospitals, healthcare professionals and other stakeholders during the COVID-19 pandemic through domestic production and distribution of hand sanitizers, L'Oréal Canada was happy to be of service.

Frank Kollmar, President & CEO of L'Oréal Canada said that "it was important for L'Oréal Canada to step up and help an essential health organization such as Canadian Blood Services. Their mission, as Canada's biological lifeline, is of utmost importance for Canadians and this donation is our way of recognizing their important role. It was a natural addition to our COVID-19 Solidarity program, which includes donation of hand sanitizers and skincare products to hospitals, frontline healthcare professionals and charities helping vulnerable women. "

"During these unprecedented times, our dedicated frontline staff and incredible donors and volunteers continue to show up to our donor centres across the country, day after day, to ensure that lifesaving blood products are there for patients in need," said Dr. Graham Sher, CEO of Canadian Blood Services.

"At Canadian Blood Services, the health and wellness of those on the frontlines is a top priority, and we are grateful to L'Oréal Canada for stepping forward to help us maintain our enhanced wellness protocols, which includes effective hand hygiene. When a donor, employee, or volunteer walk through our doors, they can take comfort in knowing that we have taken proactive steps to limit the risk of infection", Dr. Sher continued.

Since March 2020, L'Oréal Canada has re-tooled its production operations in Montreal to manufacture hydro-alcoholic gels and distribute them free of charge to those on the frontlines, as part of the fight to help curb the spread of COVID-19. The solidarity program, also launched in Europe, Asia and the United States by the L'Oréal Group, aims to support various stakeholders who are fighting on the frontlines to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus. This list includes hospitals and health professionals, hairdressing salons, distributors and suppliers with microenterprise or SME status, who are particularly exposed and fragile in the face of the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and associations that support vulnerable or disadvantaged populations – particularly, women in situations of domestic violence: https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/l-oreal-canada-launches-a-canada-wide-coronavirus-solidarity-program-832674926.html

About L'Oréal Canada

L'Oréal Canada is a wholly-owned subsidiary of L'Oréal Group, the largest cosmetics company in the world. Headquartered in Montreal, the company had sales of $1.2 billion in 2019 and employs more than 1,450 people. The company holds a portfolio of 37 brands, encompassing all aspects of beauty, and is present across all distribution networks: mass market, department stores, salons, pharmacies, drugstores, and branded retail. L'Oréal Canada, whose operations are carbon neutral, supports the L'Oréal Foundation's programs such as L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science, which has promoted the advancement of women in science in Canada since 2003, Beauty for a Better Life, a social reintegration program in hairdressing for immigrant women since 2017, and the recently launched Women in Digital support program.

About Canadian Blood Services

Canadian Blood Services is a not-for-profit charitable organization that operates independently from government. Regulated by Health Canada as a biologics manufacturer and primarily funded by the provincial and territorial ministries of health, Canadian Blood Services operates with a national scope, infrastructure and governance that make it unique within Canadian healthcare. In the domain of blood, plasma and stem cells, the organization provides services for patients on behalf of all provincial and territorial governments except Québec. The national transplant registry for interprovincial organ sharing and related programs reaches into all provinces and territories, as a biological lifeline for Canadians. Canadian Blood Services also has a unique relationship with Héma-Québec, the provincial blood system operator that provides products to patients and manages Québec's stem cell donor registry. The two organizations work closely to share blood products in times of need. For more information on how Canadian Blood Services is responding to COVID-19, visit blood.ca/covid19. 

SOURCE L'Oréal Canada Inc.

L'Oréal Canada: Virginie Hotte-Dupuis 514-287-4618 [email protected]; Canadian Blood Services: Delphine Denis 343-996-9541 [email protected]