LANGLEY, B.C. – Envision Financial, a division of First West Credit Union has donated $2,040 to food banks throughout the Lower Mainland following a two-month pilot program Get a Meal Give a Meal—a socio-economic initiative focused on supporting local businesses and providing financial aid to food banks amidst challenging times.
The program was initially designed as a way for members of the credit union to provide financial support to organizations feeling the effects of COVID-19.
“The Get a Meal Give a Meal program was created with our members in mind,” says Susan Byrom, Executive Director, Community Investment & First West Foundation. “Staying local and purchasing a meal provided an economic lift for our participating members. We don’t know what our future holds, but we do know we need to work together, and investing in our community is one of the very first places to start.”
Through the program, each order of $50+ at participating restaurants received a $25 discount, with each transaction also triggering a $5 donation to a local food bank. When the program concluded $2,040 had been donated to food banks, in addition to more than $20,000 being invested in small businesses throughout Envision Financials’ trade areas.
“We all live here and want to support our community and look after the people around us,” says Cheryl Klassen, Owner of Klassic Catering in Abbotsford and Get a Meal Give a Meal participant. “This program helped us give back to the community in a very tough time and provided businesses with much needed support during a period of considerable financial uncertainty.”
While the program’s approach was new this year, Get a Meal Give a Meal supported Envision Financials’ signature cause—The Full Cupboard. Aimed at raising food, funds and awareness about the critical issue of hunger in our communities, The Full Cupboard has raised over $69,000 for food banks to date in 2020, with more than $920,000 donated in the program’s seven-year history.
“We’ve seen the significant effects of COVID-19 throughout our social sector and we ran this program with the aim of bringing the community together in support of our food banks and local restaurants,” explains Dave Lanphear, President of Envision Financial. “The community’s strong reception of the program was incredible to see, and we couldn’t be prouder of how our community rallied together in support of an important and timely cause.”
Visit here to donate to a food bank in your community.
For more information on the Get a Meal, Give a Meal program, please visit envisionfinancial.ca/giveameal.