$10K donation helps Vaccination Support Council efforts in Algoma

NEWS RELEASE
ALGOMA VACCINATION SUPPORT COUNCIL
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The Algoma Vaccination Support Council is pleased to announce that it has received a $10,000 donation from TD Bank Group to help its vaccination support efforts across the region.
 
The AVSC was established by the Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce and the STRIVE Young Professionals Group, and is comprised of more than 40 local businesses, organizations, and community stakeholders. The Council aims to raise vaccination awareness through communications and social media, and support local and regional vaccine hubs by sponsoring lunches for clinic volunteers and team members. The AVSC also offers transportation assistance to individuals to-and-from vaccine appointments through a ride program established with PUC Services and has spearheaded the Chamber’s Rapid Testing Kit program for small businesses.
 
In an address to the AVSC during its regular bi-weekly ZOOM meeting, TD Canada Trust’s Michael Nitz, District Vice President, Northern Shield District, made the sponsorship announcement and noted that he is a big fan of what has been going on in Sault Ste. Marie with the AVSC, and what the Council is working toward.
 
“At TD, we understand how important and critical a role the vaccine has had in combating the pandemic. The great work of this committee, in supporting and encouraging the vaccination effort in Algoma, is not going unnoticed. Listening and learning about the collaboration that has been going on between the businesses and agencies involved in this partnership has been incredibly encouraging,” said Nitz.
 
Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce CEO, Rory Ring explained that TD’s donation will go a long way to helping the AVSC cross the finish line in its efforts to support area vaccination hubs and clinics.
 
“It has been a massive undertaking on the part of our local health care workers and agencies, our community centres, volunteers and everyone involved in getting us to this point with our local vaccination efforts. AVSC volunteers have been arranging lunches and snacks for the volunteers and team members for several months, and to-date, we have been able to support almost every clinic in the region,” said Ring. “So far, we’ve received almost $60,000 in donations and in-kind support from member businesses to assist our programming and the clinics. Today’s donation from TD will help us, in what we hope is the vaccination home stretch, during the next couple of months.”
 
Since launching, the AVSC has supported vaccination efforts at the GFL Memorial Gardens Vaccine Hub and at the Sault Ste. Marie Indian Friendship Centre, as well as clinics in Garden River First Nation, Batchewana First Nation, Thessalon and Thessalon First Nation, Richards Landing and Blind River.
 
In addition to supporting the team members and volunteers at our local vaccination hub and regional clinics, donations, like the one from TD, also benefit local businesses hit hard by the pandemic, including the food service sector. When the AVSC provides lunches and snacks to the team members and volunteers at area clinics, it sources everything from area restaurants, delis, and caterers. To date, the AVSC has placed orders at, and helped support, more than 40 local and area food service businesses and restaurants. Those businesses then reinvest locally, sourcing much of their inventory and supply, as well as paying staff.
 
When reinvested back into area businesses by the AVSC, the $60,000 received to-date, will likely result in almost half a million dollars in economic activity and spin-off, explains Ring. 

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