Over the past several weeks, we have seen a number of provinces and states relax restrictions and open up further. Combined with the start of summer, this has caused many to ease on social distancing measures some more so than perhaps expected or hoped for. While we are huge advocates of maintaining our physical and mental health during this time, we continue to advocate that those in our communities continue to be do so with high regard for their safety and the safety of others in our community. The practices we have adopted over last few months –minimum 6 feet distance, wearing facemasks, washing hands regularly, etc. – are even more important now than before. We owe it to those putting themselves at risk on the frontlines as well as the populations most at risk to continue doing our part to slow the spread and not lose the progress we have made over the past few months.
Even as state and provincials measures are starting to ease, the needs of those impacted by the shutdown have not mitigated, and we are even more thankful for the individuals and organizations we have interacted with as part of the Double Bottom Line Challenge who continue with their passionate engagement to help those in need. This week we are proud to support five more initiatives in our communities:
Santropol Roulant: santropolroulant.org. Santropol Roulant is a community hub based in Montreal that grows, prepares and delivers food to those in need. During COVID-19, they are providing Meals-On-Wheels service for those most at risk unable to leave their homes.
Scarborough Food Security Initiative: scarboroughfoodsecurityinitiative.com. This Toronto-based organization provides emergency food assistance to those in need in the Scarborough community.
Share the Warmth/Partageons L’Espoir: sharethewarmth.ca. A Montreal-based organization that provides youth programs, food programs and work and social economy programs to support those most vulnerable in the Pointe-Saint-Charles community.
Daily Bread Food Bank: dailybread.ca. This Toronto-based organization provides support and services to over 200 food programs across Toronto. The Daily Bread has seen a >120% increase in demand since the start of COVID-19.
Sustain the Line: sustaintheline.com. An organization that supports provides meals crafted by local restaurants to healthcare workers on the frontlines in cities across Canada and the US. Lumira supported a new initiative to provide meals to workers in Montreal.
We continue to call upon our colleagues in the venture capital and private equity community to join us in this mission. Please feel free reach out to a member of our team if you would like to work with us or suggest any high value initiatives achieving Double Bottom Line Impact that you think we should consider supporting.
Sincerely,
The Lumira Ventures Team