AIR MILES® Commits Up To $1 Million To Support Food Banks Canada and Kids Help Phone, Joining Forces with Its 11 Million Collectors Through Matching Program

For every 500 Dream Miles a Collector donates to either charity, AIR MILES will contribute $50 and match the first $500,000, aiding relief efforts and personal support for Canadians coast-to-coast

TORONTO, April 9, 2020 /CNW/ - Today, the AIR MILES Reward Program announced its commitment to support two leading Canadian charities, Kids Help Phone and Food Banks Canada, by providing a channel for its 11 million Collectors to donate their Miles to help enact positive change. Collectors can donate 500 Dream Miles to Kids Help Phone or Food Banks Canada and AIR MILES will contribute $50, on behalf of the Collector, and match the first $500,000 raised, providing up to $1 million or more in critical support. At a time when Canadians are looking for ways to continue to support each other, AIR MILES and its Collectors are coming together to assist the efforts of Kids Help Phone and Food Banks Canada.

"During these unprecedented times, we have been engaging in an ongoing dialogue with our Collectors as we evaluate how to best support our shared desire to positively impact the lives of Canadians. We are proud to open this donation-and-matching program today, alongside Food Banks Canada and our long-standing Partner Kids Help Phone," said Blair Cameron, President, AIR MILES Reward Program.  

Cameron continues, "On behalf of our Partners and the 800-plus AIR MILES Associates across Canada, we are encouraging Collectors to donate today. AIR MILES will match the first $500,000 raised to bring the total to $1 million or more. From providing vital support and resources to Canadian youth – who find themselves in unfamiliar and unsettling times – through Kids Help Phone, to ensuring access to meals for Canadians in need via Food Banks Canada, Collectors can donate with the confidence that their Miles will be used to support Canadians coast-to-coast."

How to get involved:

• Starting today, AIR MILES Collectors can donate 500 Dream Miles to Food Banks Canada or Kids Help Phone
• For every Collector donation, AIR MILES will contribute $50 to the Collector's selected charity, and match it with a corporate donation of $50
• AIR MILES will match the first $500,000 in Collector pledges
• Collectors will receive a tax receipt from the charity via the email address associated with their AIR MILES Account
• Both donation opportunities are available through airmiles.ca/donate

Across the country, Canadians are asking how they can step up and support those in need. AIR MILES is committed to ensuring the Program responds to the environment Canadians now face. This donation opportunity empowers Collectors to engage with the Program in a way that benefits Canadians at risk of food insecurity and youth in need of community support services through financial donations to Food Banks Canada and Kids Help Phone. The charity partners for this program were selected with the goal of ensuring that Canadians of all ages, across the country, could be assisted by the generosity of AIR MILES Collectors.  

"We are so grateful to our long-time partners at the AIR MILES Reward Program, who join forces with Kids Help Phone to help young people during this unprecedented crisis. Together we are supporting Canadian youth in every province and territory and providing them with a place to turn so they are never alone," said Katherine Hay, President and CEO, Kids Help Phone. "Through support from AIR MILES and our donors, we are able to ensure our national, bilingual e-mental health services are always available – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – to youth when they need it the most. Thank you to our friends – our family – at the AIR MILES Reward Program, we are in this together!"

"Many Canadian households from coast-to-coast have been struggling to provide adequate food for their families during this challenging time," said Chris Hatch, CEO, Food Banks Canada. "We're extremely grateful for the partnership between the AIR MILES Reward Program and Food Banks Canada that enables us to help relieve hunger today and prevent it tomorrow."

For more information on how to donate your Miles, visit: airmiles.ca/donate

About the AIR MILES Reward Program®
The AIR MILES Reward Program is Canada's most recognized loyalty program, with nearly 11 million active Collector Accounts, representing approximately two-thirds of all Canadian households. AIR MILES Collectors get Miles at more than 300 leading Canadian, global and online brands, and at thousands of retail and service locations across the country. It is the only loyalty program of its kind to give Collectors the flexibility and choice to use Miles on aspirational Rewards such as merchandise, travel, events or attractions; or, instantly, in-store or online through AIR MILES Cash at participating Partner locations.

About Kids Help Phone
Kids Help Phone is Canada's only 24/7 national service offering professional counselling, information, referrals and volunteer-led, text-based support for young people. Since 1989, Kids Help Phone has offered kids, teens and young adults a critical lifeline of hope and support through our free, anonymous and confidential services – which are available in both English and French. Kids Help Phone is a registered Canadian charity, and we raise the majority of our revenue from individuals, foundations, corporations and community fundraising.

About Food Banks Canada
Food Banks Canada provides national leadership to relieve hunger today and prevent hunger tomorrow, in collaboration with the food bank network in Canada. We are a national charitable organization dedicated to helping Canadians living with food insecurity. We support a network of provincial associations, affiliate food banks, and food agencies that work at the community level to relieve hunger. Our work is focused on maximizing collective impact, strengthening local capacity, and reducing the need for food banks in order to help create a Canada where no one goes hungry.

SOURCE AIR MILES Reward Program

For media inquiries: Abby Fong, North Strategic, 647-404-5668, [email protected]

Related Links

www.airmiles.ca