Each year, on the first Wednesday of December, CIBC hosts Miracle Day. On this special day, CIBC’s wholesale banking sales
and trading staff and CIBC Woody Gundy investment advisors donate their fees
and commissions to a number of children’s charities across Canada. The
Children’s Aid Foundation is fortunate to have been a part of this incredible
support since 1991. This year CIBC also granted an amazing $500, 000 in
addition to the significant annual contributions that CIBC makes to the
Foundation’s CIBC Miracle Fund.
For the past 10 years, CIBC and the Children’s Aid
Foundation have worked together to help enrich the lives of children and youth
in the care of child welfare agencies. The CIBC Miracle Fund was created to
help even the playing field and to provide opportunities for children in care
to participate in events or outings that their families are not able to afford.
Whether it be dance, music, or art lessons, sports leagues, camp, school trips,
winter boots, or independent living start-up kits, the CIBC Miracle Fund allows
children and youth to pursue their interests, build self-esteem, and most
importantly, have fun! By providing the opportunity to play and simply be a
child, the program gives them the chance to forget some of the harsh realities
of their young lives.
“The gift from CIBC and CIBC’s Miracle Day will have a
lasting impact on the lives of hundreds of children and youth,” said Ann
Barnard Ball, Executive Director, Children’s Aid Foundation. “Children and
youth served by child welfare agencies come from families who struggle in many
ways. Playing a sport or musical instrument or even the cost to go on a school
trip can be beyond the financial means of their families. But these activities
– being part of a team, learning to play by the rules, experiencing culture,
interacting with peers and having fun – go a long way in building a child’s
confidence and self-esteem and creating happy childhood memories.”
Since its inception as a Toronto-based program, the CIBC
Miracle Fund has continued to expand in an effort to enrich the lives of
children and youth in care. Currently operating in Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary,
Regina, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax, the CIBC Miracle Fund helps
fill the gap between what is provided by the government and additional opportunities that are so
important for the development of independent and full lives. By providing funds for cultural and recreational
programs, the CIBC Miracle Fund has granted over 5,900 miracles across the
country to date.
The support from CIBC and CIBC Miracle Day means so
much to the children and youth who receive “miracles.” The Foundation is proud
to collaborate with CIBC on the CIBC Miracle Fund. We look forward to helping
continue to grant “miracles” to children and youth across Canada for years to
come.
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