Breakfast Clubs of Canada and Walmart Canada's annual Help Them Shine Campaign raises more than $3 million for breakfast programs across Canada

TORONTO, April 3, 2013 /CNW/ - Breakfast Clubs of Canada in partnership with Walmart Canada, today announced their annual Help Them Shine campaign has raised more than $3 million in support of school breakfast programs across Canada.

From February 14 to March 10, Canadians were invited to show their support by purchasing a $1 bookmark at Walmart Canada stores across the country. Every bookmark sold equaled one nutritious breakfast for a child. In addition to the $2.2 million raised by customers and associates, the company donated almost $750,000 to support nutrition programs across the country. Charitable product promotions from Minute Maid, Kellogg's and The Laughing Cow generated a further $95,000.

With the support of Walmart Canada, its customers, associates and vendor partners, Breakfast Clubs of Canada is able to sustain 1,215 breakfast programs across the country by providing funding, food donations, equipment and training.

"We believe every child deserves an equal chance to shine in school and in life," said Daniel Germain, president and founder of Breakfast Clubs of Canada. "Through Walmart's ongoing support and partnership, our annual Help Them Shine campaign continues to be a huge success and the biggest fundraiser for our organization."

When one in seven Canadian children are at risk of going to school on an empty stomach, the Help Them Shine Campaign is vital to ensuring kids across Canadian classrooms get a proper start with a nutritious breakfast each day. Breakfast Clubs of Canada provides more than 20 million breakfasts across the country; feeding more than 120,000 children annually. Research has shown children who eat a nutritious breakfast before school benefit from improved attendance and punctuality, improved behaviour and concentrations, and display improved social skills and greater confidence to interact with children and adults.

"At Walmart we place a priority on helping Canadian families in need from coast-to-coast, which is why we have a long history of partnering with charities like Breakfast Clubs of Canada that have roots in the many communities across the country where we do business," said John Lawrence, director, corporate social responsibility at Walmart Canada. "We're proud to be Breakfast Club of Canada's largest corporate donor." Since 2006, Walmart Canada has donated and raised more than $20 million to support nutrition programs across the country.

To learn more about Breakfast Clubs of Canada's activities and its mission, to make an online donation, or to find out how you can get involved, visit www.breakfastclubscanada.org.

SOURCE: Breakfast Clubs of Canada

Club des petits déjeuners du Canada
Catherine Paradis-Lavoie
514 826-8463

Breakfast Clubs of Canada
Lisa Clowery
450 641-3230 x 292
[email protected]

Walmart Canada
Rosalyn Carneiro 
[phone] x 74240
[email protected]