Vince's Market is donating more than $30,000 to support local mental health programs.
The donation for the Canadian Mental Health Association - York Region and South Simcoe (CMHA) was raised through the independent grocer's annual community product initiative — the highest amount it has ever raised since the program launched five years ago, said Maria Ciarlandini, Vince's community ambassador.
The grocer selects a charity each year that receives 15 per cent of the sales of certain products.
To date, more than $114,000 has been donated to local charities from Vince's and its customers, Ciarlandini said.
Members of the Vince's team gathered in the newly completed community room at its Sharon store to present a cheque for $30,202.53 to CMHA.
The initiative has become popular with regular customers who seem to really engage with it, according to Vince's president Giancarlo Trimarchi.
“Now we do have a bunch of customers who look for the tags to be able to buy the product because they know it goes toward supporting local charity,” he said.
When choosing charities to support, one thing they consider is relevance and picking a cause that resonates with customers.
"The closer to home, we know when that happens, the willingness to participate in philanthropy goes up," Trimarchi said.
He said mental health challenges have been at the forefront for many people in the last couple of years, which is why he thinks this year was so successful, as CMHA resonates with many shoppers.
Along with passing the cheque, Vince's also passed the torch to the next community product initiative recipient which is Community & Home Assistance To Seniors (CHATS).
Kelly Broome, vice-president of philanthropy and communications at CHATS, congratulated CMHA on all the good work they do in the community and said she is thrilled for CHATS to be the recipient this year.
Vince's shoppers can look for the community product of the week in the flyer and also search for the sign in stores to support this cause.
