With a staff of predominantly women, and many of them mothers, uniting behind a summer-long campaign to help sick newborns was an easy decision for the team at Aldergrove’s Huer Foods.
Proceeds from the sale of a new, specially branded Huer’s candy, aptly named Sweet Beginnings, will help fund an infant MRI machine for the BC Women’s Hospital, explained the company’s head of marketing Molly Clinton.
While the specialty candies started being distributed to retailers in mid-April, Clinton said the main push for the fundraiser is being tied in with Mother’s Day, and a few specific events and venues leading up to the annual day of recognition.
“Through Sweet Beginnings, our goal is to spark awareness, inspire action, and help ensure that B.C.’s tiniest patients have the best start in life. Whether it’s at BC Place events, in your favourite supermarkets, pop-up shops, or on limited edition Lee’s Donuts (from Mother’s Day to May 31), we’re rallying our community to make a difference—one bag of Sweet Beginnings at a time,” Clinton said.
Through her past volunteer efforts with the BC Women’s Health Foundation, Clinton had learned about some of the need facing the hospital and specifically its health centre’s neonatal intensive care unit.
“Their groundbreaking research and life-changing initiatives deserve to be shouted from the rooftops,” Clinton said.
“When I learned about the urgent need for the BC Women’s NICU MRI campaign, I knew this was an opportunity to turn British Columbians' love for candy into something truly meaningful,” she said.
She suggested to the Huer team that they could play an integral role in raising funds for the new piece of equipment which will be life-changing for hundreds of babies each year.
It wasn’t just the management team of this Canadian owned and operated business that was excited to jump on board with Sweet Beginnings. Clinton said the 65 employees in the packaging and warehouse sites in Aldergrove and the warehouse in Quebec were all passionate about helping out.
“They were all so moved,” she said. “When I was discussing this, the potential of this initiative, with our entire employee base, you could just tell that they were so moved by the work BC Women’s Hospital does… this campaign deeply resonated with our entire team.”
The $6.5-million MRI will be the first in Western Canada, making a significant impact on the treatment of critically ill infants in B.C., said Cally Wesson, president and CEO of the BC Women’s Health Foundation.
The machine will enable earlier and more precise diagnoses, allowing parents to stay with their baby throughout the entire scan, and providing the province’s tiniest patients with an MRI machine designed specifically for their size and special needs, Wesson explained.
“Ultimately, it will enhance care for vulnerable newborns while driving innovative research on infant brain development to improve long-term health outcomes,” she said.
In addition to selling the new, specially branded candies at retailers/supermarkets that regularly sell Huer candies, the Sweet Beginnings will be pushed out ahead of Mother’s Day with a special sale May 8 to 11 at the McArthurGlen Designer Outlet in Vancouver; at Lee’s Donut locations (including at Willowbrook Shopping Centre) from May 11 to 31 where 100 per cent of proceeds go to the cause; as well at Huer’s pop-ups at Vancouver Whitecaps games in BC Place on May 28 and 31.
The hope with this new initiative is to sell at least 30,000 bags of the candy, but moreover increase awareness throughout B.C. for the need of the specialized MRI machine.
While the local company, founded in 1986, Huer has often helped charities in the Lower Mainland and across the country, and “one of our key values is community,” Clinton said. But, without question, this is their biggest charitable initiative undertaking yet.
