The Canadian Red Cross has presented its coveted Partners in Humanity citation to the Prince Edward Island Liquor Control Commission as a thank you to commission management, staff and especially its patrons who over the past six years have donated almost $265,000 to support Red Cross programs locally in PEI as well as for major national and international disaster responses.

The framed citation is used to honor community groups and private or public sector organizations who support the humanitarian mission of the Red Cross through donations of time, skills, fundraising or other significant contributions at a provincial or national level. “Island residents and visitors to our province all recognize the valuable work of the Canadian Red Cross and have been very generous as patrons of our 18 PEI Liquor corporate retail outlets with donations to help the Red Cross fulfil its humanitarian mission whenever and wherever needed,” said the Hon. Allen Roach, Minister responsible for the PEI Liquor Control Commission.

In 2011, the PEILCC designated the Canadian Red Cross as beneficiary of a campaign where each July, patrons can add a donation to their purchases. The July campaigns to date have raised $196,207 and will run again from Canada Day on July 1 to the end of the month. “The generosity of PEILCC patrons with the support of store managers and associates helps us cover some of the costs locally of disaster assistance to Islanders, such as providing emergency shelter, clothing and food to a family that just lost their home and belongings to a fire,” said Laura Johnson-Montigny, PEI Provincial Director of the Canadian Red Cross. “Some of these funds also support the training of disaster volunteers, our summer day camps that teach swimming, water safety and leadership skills to children and youth, and our program that provides Islanders recovering from injury or illness with free short-term loans of wheelchairs, crutches and other mobility aids.”

In addition to the annual July campaigns that have raised $196,207 over the past five years, patrons and staff of the PEILCC have also raised $68,570 for specific national or international disasters including earthquakes in Haiti in 2010 and Japan in 2011, Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines in 2013, and most recently the massive forest fire in May that forced the evacuation of almost 90,000 people from Fort McMurray and surrounding communities in northern Alberta.