Women’s College Hospital Foundation receives $150,000 grant from Walmart Canada

MISSISSAUGA, ON – February 10, 2022 – Walmart Canada has announced a $150,000 grant to Women’s College Hospital Foundation to establish the Walmart Canada Equitable Futures in Healthcare Award for a leading researcher supporting Black communities through the Emily Stowe Society at Women’s College Hospital.

The investment is part of Walmart Canada and the Walmart Foundation’s collaborative efforts to address the drivers of systemic racism in society and accelerate change.

Earlier today Walmart Canada and the Walmart Foundation announced they are awarding over three million dollars in grants to seven Canadian organizations supporting Indigenous and Black communities in Canada in education, career advancement, food security and health.

The grants are the first round of funding from the Walmart Foundation’s $20 million USD commitment over five years to advance equity for Black and Indigenous Canadians through food security and economic opportunity. Funding is focused on initiatives that strengthen food systems and create equitable advancement and pathways of opportunity for Black and Indigenous Canadians. 

“As part of our strategy to become a regenerative company we are advocating and driving systemic change to build more inclusive communities across Canada,” said Nabeela Ixtabalan, Executive Vice President People and Corporate Affairs, Walmart Canada. “We will use our size and scale to make an impact towards a more just and equitable society across Canada”

“We are so grateful to Walmart Canada for their generous donation to Women’s College Hospital Foundation, which will help improve mental healthcare quality and access for underserved Black communities in Ontario,” says Jennifer Bernard, President and CEO, Women’s College Hospital Foundation. 

The grant to Women’s College Hospital Foundation to establish the Award will be administered through its Emily Stowe Society. Named in honour of Dr. Emily Stowe, Canada’s first woman doctor and the founder of Women’s College Hospital, The Emily Stowe Society is a community of individuals, foundations and corporations at Women’s dedicated to breaking down barriers to careers in health sciences research for bright young minds in Canada. With a special focus on supporting individuals from equity-seeking communities that are severely underrepresented in the health sciences, The Emily Stowe Society has a collective mission to engage, retain and advance researchers at every stage of their careers.

OVERALL FIRST ROUND GRANT RECIPIENTS:

From the Walmart Foundation:

• Information and Communications Technology Council ($500,000 USD): conducting research to help understand gaps that Black and Indigenous communities face in job mobility and career advancement in Canada’s economy.

• NPower Canada ($500,000 USD): leveraging learning hubs to expand impact and reach to underserved populations, particularly in Black and Indigenous communities and reskilling the adult learners for the future of work through its ReNew Tech Reskilling pilot program.

• Food Banks Canada ($599,250 USD): improving culturally appropriate understanding in the charitable food system through a research initiative that  centers racialized and Indigenous people’s voices to better understand the landscape, challenges and barriers for those living with food insecurity.

• Community Foundations of Canada ($1,050,000): Supports the Indigenous Peoples Resilience Fund for Indigenous-led organizations and efforts to advance food security, food sovereignty and food justice.

From Walmart Canada:

• Women’s College Hospital Foundation ($150,000):  This grant will establish the Walmart Canada Equitable Futures in Healthcare Award for a leading researcher supporting Black communities through the Emily Stowe Society at Women’s College Hospital.

• York University ($75,000): Supports Dr. Jean Augustine’s, Chair in Education, Student Research and Support Initiative that will help address the low post-secondary graduation rates of Black Students in Canadian Universities.

• Indspire ($50,000): Education and Employment and support for adult learners in the Indigenous Community – Building Brighter Futures program.

These philanthropic grants complement the work of Walmart Canada’s three Shared Value Networks as part of its Live Better equity strategy to leverage its business strengths to advance equity across the Canadian landscape – Education & Employment, Health & Well-Being, and Supplier Diversity Procurement.  These efforts are based on Walmart Canada’s shared value approach, focused on creating value for the business, customers, and society by building Opportunities for All.

About Walmart Canada
Walmart Canada operates a chain of more than 400 stores nationwide serving 1.5 million customers each day. Walmart Canada’s flagship online store, Walmart.ca is visited by more than 900,000 customers daily. With more than 100,000 associates, Walmart Canada is one of Canada’s largest employers and is ranked one of the country’s top 10 most influential brands. Walmart Canada was recently recognized as a LinkedIn Top Company of 2021 and was also named one of Canada’s most popular brands (based on Google searches). Walmart Canada’s extensive philanthropy program is focused on supporting Canadian families in need, and since 1994 Walmart Canada has raised and donated more than $500 million to Canadian charities. Additional information can be found at walmartcanada.ca and on Walmart Canada’s social media pages – Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

About Philanthropy at Walmart
Walmart.org represents the philanthropic efforts of Walmart and the Walmart Foundation. By focusing where the business has unique strengths, Walmart.org works to tackle key social and environmental issues and collaborate with others to spark long-lasting systemic change.

About Women’s College Hospital Foundation:

Women’s College Hospital is Canada’s leader in advancing health for women and a global leader in conducting groundbreaking women’s health research. As the first and only fully independent hospital focused on women, Women’s is building on its 100+ year history as a trailblazer in identifying and addressing women’s health gaps and delivering pioneering firsts for women, the vulnerable and the underserved.

Women’s is also the only fully ambulatory, academic healthcare institution in Canada, with a provincial mandate to lead the way in improving the health system for all people. Women’s achieves this by addressing the most pressing health system challenges facing Canadians today and proactively confronting the gender and social inequities that threaten people’s health.

 Women’s College Hospital Foundation fuels the hospital’s excellence in research and health care by connecting donors, partners, advocates and volunteers to its mission. We work to bring healthcare equity to the diverse communities in which we live and serve and, together, we are creating a healthier and more equitable world for women and their loved ones