Giving Back: Making A Difference In Our Community This Holiday Season
At Dumfries Mutual Insurance, we love to give back and help the community that has supported us since our beginning in 1856. It’s ingrained in our people and our values and we truly live it every day. This has been another exceptional year for everyone, including our team, and even though we couldn’t be physically together, we made intentional donations to charities in our community through our staff and company initiatives.
The Dumfries Difference
The Dumfries Difference is about helping our neighbours and our community. This year we’ve had the privilege to help a wide variety of charities. Our largest impact donations are $20,000 given this fall to each of the Umbrella Project and Farm & Food Care Ontario. These donations will also fund some of their 2022 initiatives. We believe supporting children and farmers is essential to providing a bright future for everyone.
In addition to the donations above, our agents have contributed towards the following charities:
Everyone gets involved throughout the year!
At Dumfries, it’s never just one person doing great things. All of our staff love to get behind and contribute in various ways towards causes that are close to their heart. If a cause is special to our staff, then it’s special to Dumfries!
It’s an honour to be able to support our staff by donating towards their favourite charities. Our staff have helped support life-threatening diseases that have personally impacted their lives in one way or another as well as social justice initiatives to help those who need it most. Here are some of the charities that received staff-directed donations in 2021:
- Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
- Cambridge Humane Society
- Crohn’s & Colitis Canada
- Good Shepherd Venture Centre Food Bank
- McMaster Children’s Hospital Foundation
- Indigenous Women’s Fund of Canada
- Alzheimer’s Society
- Nutrition for Learning
- Organized Kaos
- Safe Families Canada
- Kinbridge Community Association
Communities met in person again this year!
After extended separation in 2020, community groups and organized sports teams and events were thrilled to resume in person activities in 2021. Direct donations make the greatest impact on community groups, particularly when fundraising options have been limited.
This year, our agents sponsored these wonderful organizations and programs advancing youth and agriculture within our communities:
- Grade 3 Class at Rockton Elementary School- Terry Betzner
- Woodstock Wildcats Girls Hockey– Lee Ellery
- Guelph Jr. Gryphons Girls Hockey– Scott Parker
- Cambridge Youth Soccer Boys U8 and Girls U14- Christina George & Colleen Kiriakos
- Paris Youth Softball– Tyler Nixon
- Golf tournament sponsors for Kiwanis Club of Ingersoll, Brantford Christian School, Junior Achievement SWO– Lee Ellery, Christina George & Tyler Nixon
- Jersey Canada Champion 4-H Banner Class- Don Graham
- Various local Lions Clubs- Terry Betzner & Don Graham
- Cambridge Symphony Orchestra- Don Graham
Ways we can all help during the holiday season!
This holiday, our staff purchased gifts for seniors to be distributed through the Flamborough Connects Holiday Gift Program. We are also collecting new pairs of socks and mittens to be distributed through Cambridge Shelter Corporation along with food donations for the Cambridge Firefighters Basket Fund. We encourage and and are continuing to accept donations at our office until December 17.
For the third consecutive year Agent Colleen Kiriakos donated to the CTV Toy Mountain, and Agent Christina George sponsored the Christmas JOY Home Tour in support of HOPE House in Guelph! It’s heartwarming for all our agents to be able to give back to the communities which have given them so much.
While COVID prevented us from doing organized hands-on volunteering this year, we are excited to be creating a Dumfries Volunteer Policy (much like our staff-directed donations) that will allow employees to provide volunteer hours towards a charity of their choice.
We are so proud of our team and the way they have pulled together, not only to do their jobs, but to dream for a better future where we help each other, our policyholders, and our communities in unprecedented ways in the coming months and years. We are more than insurance.
Happy holidays everyone!