Vale and Wheaton Precious Metals joined together this week to donate
$100,000 to the Edgar Burton Christmas Food Drive in support of the
Sudbury Food Bank. This is the largest donation the Edgar Burton
Christmas Food Drive has received since it became a community tradition
more than 30 years ago.
“Vale’s employees are so proud to continue the community tradition of
helping those in need along with our business partner, Wheaton Precious
Metals,” said Claire Parkinson, Head of Processing Plants for Vale’s
Ontario Operations. “Together with our community we have an opportunity
to make a significant difference in the lives of so many this holiday
season.”
The donation is in addition to the thousands of dollars donated by the
community and more than 100 tons of food donated to the Edgar Burton
Christmas Food drive by generous businesses, school children and
individuals across the City of Greater Sudbury this holiday season.
Financial donations can still be made at:
www.sudburyfoodbank.ca/edgarburton.
“Wheaton’s staff have volunteered with their local food banks in the
past and have seen firsthand the positive impact that these
organizations make in our communities,” said Randy Smallwood, Wheaton’s
President and Chief Executive Officer. “We are proud to join our partner
Vale in supporting the Sudbury Food Bank with this important initiative
to help the less fortunate this holiday season.”
“We are so thankful for this generous donation from Vale and Wheaton
Precious Metals to the Edgar Burton Christmas Food Drive,” said Mellaney
Dahl, President of the Sudbury Food Bank. “It comes at a really
important time during the pandemic and the growing number of clients
that require the support of the Sudbury Food Bank.”
Edgar Burton, a Vale Divisional Shops employee for 36 years, started the
annual food drive 34 years ago in his workplace when Edgar’s daughters
asked him if they could start collecting food for the less fortunate.
Today, Vale donates the time of one full-time and one part-time United
Steel Worker (USW) Local 6500 employee for approximately two months to
organize the Edgar Burton Christmas Food Drive.
“USW Local 6500 is proud to uphold Edgar Burton’s vision of one more can
than last year” said Nick Larochelle, President of USW Local 6500. “We
would like to thank our members, Owen Marcotte and Jeff LaLonde from
Vale’s Divisional Shops, and all the volunteers for their work on this
year’s campaign. A big thank you also goes out to all the people that
have taken the time to make a donation once again this year.”
Before his passing in 2010, Edgar launched the Kids Helping Kids
campaign, which engages school children in the food drive and teaches
them about the importance of giving back to their community. And despite
the pandemic, students have continued to give generously to the Kids
Helping Kids campaign this year.
Collection of all of the donations during the Edgar Burton Christmas
Food Drive is no easy feat. In fact, the campaign organizers call in the
2nd Battalion Irish Regiment of Canada to get the job done.
As one of the largest food drives in Canada, the Edgar Burton Christmas
Food Drive is a source of community pride. With a dedicated group of
volunteers and thousands of donations from residents all across the
City, we are helping thousands of families and individuals in need.