CIBC and TPL partner to help Canadian military children

The nationwide bank CIBC recently announced its partnership with the military support foundation True Patriot Love (TPL). The partnership includes a multi-year donation of $250,000 in support of Canada’s Military Children with special needs.

“As part of our ongoing commitment to Canada’s Armed Forces and to help kids build a better future, CIBC is proud to mark Remembrance Day with a new commitment that will benefit military families with special needs children by providing financial aid and resources. We are pleased to partner with True Patriot Love Foundation to honour the sacrifices of Canada’s military servicemen and women,” said Stephen Forbes, Executive Vice-President, CIBC in a statement.

The funds will be used to benefit military families with children with special needs by providing financial relief for various required processes like tutoring, necessary assessments and respite care. This also includes speech, visual and behavioral therapy.

The donation will be made over a five-year time period, allowing $50,000 to be donated annually.

“Military families who move frequently are impacted greatly from both an emotional and financial perspective. Frequently moving location affects children and families in a variety of capacities, including increased costs for therapies for children with special needs, tutoring for children who have to adjust to a new curriculum, and the anxieties of having to make friends in a new community,” said  Bronwen Evans, President at True Patriot Love.

Many of CIBC’s charitable projects focuses on children. In 2014, the company contributed more than $42 million to 1,780 initiatives including Run for the Cure, CIBC Children’s Foundation and United Way.

“Aligning our support to children with special needs is in keeping with our Community Investment strategy, which is focused on kids, cures and community. We saw an opportunity to support children and youth in need, and that was identified as a gap by True Patriot Love,” said a CIBC Spokesperson.

Though CIBC has supported TPL in the past by attending their fundraising dinners, this is the first official partnership between the two.

In the past, CIBC has supported military personnel and their families by donating $1 million over a ten year period to Canada Company. This money is used to fund scholarships for post-secondary education of children of fallen soldiers.

They also donated $500,000, over a five-year period, to Canada Company to fund their Military Employment Transition program.

The company also believes in hiring veterans. In 2015, CIBC hired 43 veterans.